There’s nothing as important as looking after your noggin when riding your bike, but that doesn’t mean you have to fork out more than a grand for a quality lid.
The Rjays SP2 is a good looking, lightweight helmet with a heap of features and it retails for just $329.95 in a plain finish or $349.95 with graphics.I opted for the Revolution Matt Army Green model which, as the name suggests, has a trick looking matt green finish and bright yellow and red graphics. It ain’t subtle but it’s definitely a trick-looking stand-out lid.The SP2 is available in four shell sizes so you’ll easily find one to suit your head. The shell is made of a light-weight uni-composite material and incorporates nine vents. Eight of these vents can be opened or closed, so it takes a while to figure out where they all are when you’re wearing the helmet, but ventilation is definitely good.The visors are easy to remove and fit and offer a good seal when shut. There are a range of clear and tinted visors, all with an anti-fog/anti-scratch finish and tear-off posts.The helmet’s removeable and washable liner is comfortable with a good finish and a padded chin strap. Breath and chin guards are standard fitment. There’s plenty of space around your ears which add to comfort levels, but also mean the SP2 isn’t the quietest helmet around, especially when you’re riding a nakedbike.Nevertheless, it makes the SP2 well suited to commuting duties in heavy traffic and, when I’m on the open road I normally wear earplugs anyway. If you’re after a trick looking lid with a heap of features at the right price, the SP2 is a beauty.RJays SP2 Revolution Distributor: Cassons www.cassons.com.au (02) 9684 1210
Pssst.
Wanna get high? Forget illegal drugs. Forget winning the grand final. And forget the first – or last – time you got lucky. Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac, and have I got the power trip for you. It’s not cheap, but it’s worth it. Trust me, it doesn’t get much better than this.Think super sedans. Fast four doors. Ridiculously quick and with all the fancy trappings to make leaders of industry and power brokers salivate with anticipation. We’ve got three fearsomely potent four-doors that could shake the dead from their slumber. They’re among the most powerful, most opulent four-seaters in Australia, and you won’t have to tell the kids in the back to be quiet – they’ll be mute with amazement as the world warps by.Normally, you’ve got to be a CEO or a multi-millionaire to take this trip. It helps if you’re a sports star, or you invented Facebook or Google, and have an insatiable lust for power in every facet of your life. Today, however, we’re going to drive a mile in their cars. Quite a few miles.In the Wheels world, these people don’t bother with a chauffeur. Why work so hard and then pay someone else to have all the fun? But what to drive? A luxury car is not enough, though they most likely have one or two. A high-performance sports car, too, isn’t enough, though they may even have a couple of those. These three cars – the Audi RS6, the Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S and the Porsche Panamera Turbo – deliver a heady brew of both opulence and vigour.These three executive sledgehammers are the automotive embodiment of power in all its forms. Their muscular flanks and aggressive stances exude visual power, their engines shake with physical power, and their exclusivity and stratospheric price tags advertise the considerable power of their owners. These three are the last word in four-door sports luxury.The trigger for this three-way clash is the Porsche Panamera. This seriously quick sedan-cum-hatch is the fourth new car-line from Zuffenhausen in little more than a decade. The company that once rose and fell with the fortunes of the 911 now harvests just 20 percent of its sales from that rear-engined staple.Making up the other two-thirds of our three-way drive to four-door heaven are the Audi RS6 and Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S. Together this flotilla costs $1.1 million, has 1117kW and 1910Nm, and can blast to 100km/h in five seconds or less. It’s the kind of comparo that makes Wheels’ insurance man quake at the knees.The Panamera is offered in three guises (S, 4S and Turbo), all with a 4.8-litre V8 up front. There are V6 and hybrid versions on the way, but even so the Panamera is not expected to be a volume seller for the brand. It has been positioned to complement the polarising yet lucrative Cayenne SUV, which is priced from $100K to $270K. The Panamera’s current V8-only range starts at $265K and stretches to $365K for the Turbo model we’re testing. That’s the starting point; in typical Porsche fashion the options amount to an HSV Clubsport, and take the driveaway price north of $420,000.For that, the front-engine Panamera puts 368kW of twin-turbocharged V8 on tap, metered out to all four wheels through a cutting-edge PDK seven-speed double-clutch transmission. The Panamera Turbo will pamper you and three passengers in luxury unrivalled by any other Porsche, and protect you with the best safety and technology the factory has yet devised.The Audi RS6 sedan is unique in this company because it’s based on a more mundane volume model, the A6. But the RS makeover is all-encompassing. From its bespoke, muscular body panels to its rampant 426kW twin-turbocharged V10 engine, the RS6 is the most potent model Audi makes – more powerful than even the R8 V10 sports coupe that is considered the brand’s flagship.In this company, however, the three-box Audi fades into the background against two such visually arresting entities, despite its blistered wheel arches and road-hugging bodykit.No country does exotica like Italy. The tempestuous Mediterranean nation that gave the world both Monica Bellucci and Alessandro Volta knows intimately about beauty and power. And Maserati is the only one of Italy’s supercar triumvirate to package power and passion in a four-door. Yes, the Quattroporte Sport GT S has by far the most sultry, evocative lines of our three combatants.Styling is an important facet of our trio’s allure. But is it better to look gorgeous or expensive? Lust or envy? Either way the Maserati takes best-in-show. Its curvaceous lines tempt your eyes with every swell and sweep, and that gaping maw practically tattoos the marque’s trident on appreciative retinas. The Maserati’s interior shouts opulence, too, with its creamy leather and warm wood. Unlike the Maserati, the Panamera’s lines aren’t pretty.The Panamera is imposing; its styling is more about substance and strength than beauty. A handful of 911 cues link it to the Porsche family, though they don’t sit comfortably on a car almost as long as the 5.1m Maserati, but wider and lower. It looks heavier too, though at 1970kg it is the lightest of our trio – just.The Porsche may be imposing, but if you want the world to watch as you drive past, buy the Maserati. The Italians know all about the theatre of a performance car. The Quattroporte’s voluptuous styling is one example, its delicious soundtrack another.The Maserati’s 4.7-litre V8 produces the Pavarotti of engine notes, and has a bi-modal exhaust specifically to unleash what is one of the automotive world’s greatest and most captivating symphonies. Even revving in neutral, it is Dolby-demonic and full of blood-pumping virility. Under load, it is embellished with a seriously rumbling undertone. In a tunnel it reverberates with menace and makes your heart skip a beat.In isolation, the Maserati is an enthralling car to drive. The V8 engine’s reworked 323kW (an extra 8kW) gives it a renewed vigour that’s beautifully teamed with the ZF six-speed automatic gearbox. Its natural aspiration gives it an immediacy the Germans can’t match, adding to its addictive qualities.The Quattroporte Sport GT S is capable of accelerating from 0-100km/h in just 5.5 seconds, and keeps on swinging until the second hundred is a distant memory. With the sport button depressed there’s a lustiness about the engine that’s genuinely inspiring, especially so when it comes with that dramatic soundtrack.But the Maserati is caught between two worlds, and falls short in outright performance. Ballsy engine, great sound, but in this company it is more than a second off the fastest in 0-100km/h time. The transmission is smooth and refined, and has a nodding acquaintance with sporting discipline, but stubbornly refuses to short-shift via the paddles – and those paddles don’t turn with the wheel, making it difficult to grab a new gear mid-corner. The Quattroporte’s ZF also has the disconcerting habit of lurching on downchanges, mimicking the dipped clutch of a manual, which upsets stability under brakes.The Maserati is the only one of our trio not to offer adjustable suspension – something other Quattroporte models have. Instead, one setting must provide the comfort of a grand tourer (it does) and the body control of a sports sedan (it doesn’t). The Quattroporte leans heavily in corners and is ponderous on change of direction, despite having the sharpest steering and quickest rack of the three.But all these niggles get blown away by the Maserati’s soaring sound. It is sublime. By contrast the Audi sounds like a whooshing whirlwind and the Porsche like a fart in a phone booth. But, as if making up for their tepid tonal qualities, they both haul in the horizon with a ferocity the Maserati cannot match.Whichever Audi engineer thought that a Lamborghini V10 could do with a couple of turbos (Audi makes the blocks for Lamborghini), then decided to cram it into the A6’s modest engine bay (along with seven radiators and four cooling fans) is most likely insane … and ingenious. The Audi’s 426kW leaves the other two behind on paper, whether you measure it outright, or divide by engine displacement or vehicle kerb weight.In typical Audi style there’s no fuss or complex courting ritual (a la BMW M cars) to extract the RS6’s full motive force. Just turn the key and warp! The V10 RS6 leaps off the mark without a skerrick of wheelspin – even though it’s not until 4000rpm that the engine truly feels on fire – and the pace at which it devours both distance and the remaining rev range is mind-numbingly rapid.Then the brutality takes another step up at 5500rpm, and everything you knew about speed goes out the window. It feels as though there could be another surge again, beyond the 7000rpm redline, if only for that pesky rev limiter.A quick snick on the alloy paddle and the next of six ZF gears slots precisely, and the Audi thrusts forward with renewed vigour. Off the line, the RS6 is an unstoppable force, ticking off the tonne in 4.5 seconds and blitzing the 0-400m in 12.5sec.On flowing roads, the RS6 is scary fast; feeling as if it could rip up and down mountains forever and never get tired or tiring. And, for such a potent sedan, it’s benign, especially if the three-mode suspension is set to ‘dynamic’. The RS6 sits flat through corners and doesn’t see-saw under power or brakes. The quattro AWD delivers monstrous grip, and its rear bias reduces nose-lifting understeer on throttle.But the RS6 never feels as malleable as the Porsche or the Maserati. Light steering at slow speeds weights up considerably at pace, and it takes muscle and commitment to manipulate the car. Watching it in the Porsche’s rearview mirror, the RS6 looks low and mean. But slowly the gap builds.Despite giving a 58kW advantage to the Audi, the Panamera is quicker and even more savage, though you wouldn’t know it on first acquaintance. For example, the steering isn’t as quick as the Audi’s, and the throttle defaults to numb urban mode to avoid unexpectedly vigorous lunges which could leave a bus on your bonnet.Better by far to wake the Porsche from its coma by invoking Sport mode every time you enter its A380-esque cockpit, and acclimatise to its razor-sharp reflexes. The throttle sharpens appreciably, the PDK seven-speed transmission chooses a more responsive gearchange map and the adjustable damping slips into something less comfortable but so much more capable.Then, in Sport Plus, a full-throttle launch in the all-wheel drive Panamera Turbo is an assault on your senses. Left foot hard on the brake, right foot hard on the accelerator, hard enough to go beyond the initial detent. The launch control system dials up 4000rpm, waiting for your next move. Then simply step off the brake … and prepare for the onslaught.Though you may be curled forward against the impending force, the ferocity with which its four-wheel grip turns 770Nm (Sport Plus offers an overboost for an extra 70Nm) into motion overpowers neck muscles and slams your head back in the heavily bolstered seat.The savagery is momentarily disorienting, but while you’re trying to recover the seven-speed ’box dumps in the next ratio, and the next, and obliterates the 100km/h mark in 4.23 seconds. That’s a full three-tenths quicker than the RS6 – and there were, apparently, two gearchanges along the way.The Panamera’s Jekyll and Hyde duality delivers conflicting ideals without confusion. Outside Sport mode, the Panamera is distant, its responses lethargic and flat. Take off from the lights and the seven-speed PDK will hurry through the ratios to reach seventh at little more than 90km/h, then sit on a lazy 1500rpm at 110km/h. With Sport mode in play, however, the Porsche feels alive, like an eager puppy straining on the leash. It drops gears and is ready with more revs in an instant. The air suspension stiffens to keep the body flat in corners and more stable on change of direction.Engage Sport Plus mode and the Panamera becomes laser-focused and expects the driver to do the same. The PDK’s most aggressive mapping ensures up-changes don’t happen below 6500rpm regardless of throttle pressure – embarrassing if you’re in a school zone pulling 6000rpm in first, but ideal for a back-country blast. And downchanges under brakes are so perfectly orchestrated there’s no point battling with the naff rocker switches mounted on the steering wheel spokes.Sport Plus mode makes the Panamera feel lighter, too, as if it shed 500kg when the button was pushed. This is Mr Hyde mode, and it trades all comfort-based pretence for a show of force beyond even the Audi’s impressive reach. The Panamera becomes hyper-sensitive to inputs, ruthlessly quick to respond and incredibly nimble. It dances hypnotically through the bends, making full use of the prodigious Michelin grip at its disposal. In this hyper-reality mode the Panamera is at its most communicative, too, with superb feel through the steering wheel. With a large lump of V8 just behind the front axle, it’s no 911 in terms of steering feel; not even Porsche’s engineers are that good.Invoke Mr Hyde mode if you will, but with absolute power comes responsibility. Anything less than full commitment and competence from the driver and the Porsche feels clumsy. Throttle response is immediate and an unsure right foot makes the Panamera leap and stumble. Show backbone and the result is intense, heightened aggression – the turbo V8 is just so strong and so encouragingly rev-happy. It feels so right and somehow so naughty, like a teenager discovering the key to dad’s booze cabinet.The optional ceramic brakes fitted to our test car are the perfect counterbalance to the lurid ferocity of the powerplant. In concert with the enormous 20-inch Michelin Pilot Sport tyres, the brakes tear stones from hard-baked tarmac and hurl them pinging against the wheel arches. But their efficiency comes at a cost, because what they deliver in tenacity they surrender in tactility. It can be hard to judge brake pedal pressure, and softer applications can deliver frustratingly inconsistent retardation. Ceramic brakes are a strange and pricey ($20,490) option on a car that’s less likely to see track days than, say, a 911, Cayman or even a Boxster.Ultimately, though, the Porsche and the Audi lack a supercar essential: that sound. Both are ridiculously quick and ruthlessly efficient, and both will deliver an adrenaline rush that should be illegal, or bottled. But, despite their exotic engine configurations, neither has the spirited sound of the Maserati. Imagine an AC/DC concert with the volume turned down. Sure, you’ll see the show and your neck will hurt like hell, but it’s just not the same…Power trip over. Time to come down and decide which one delivers nirvana. The world awaits the car maker that can combine the Porsche’s mind-altering performance with the Maserati’s sound and style and the Audi’s price tag and practicality. The RS6 represents (relatively) good value. That this V10 sledgehammer hits almost as savagely as the Panamera and costs $100,000 less is significant.But do CEOs and captains of industry strive to save a dollar, or a hundred thousand? Or do they want the best, money be damned? If so, take the Panamera, and prepare to have your mind altered permanently. But be warned, every time you hear a Quattroporte Sport GT S drive by, you’ll wonder if you made the right choice.
Deep and brown, ranging in viscosity from sloppy to suck-your-boots-off, the mud of Eastnor Castle’s trails is diabolical.
Even isolated from filthy reality in the fragrantly leathered luxury of a Range Rover cabin, it’s hard not to be impressed by the way the fire keeps burning and the tyres keep churning.Behind the wheel, there’s never a moment of doubt that this heavyweight will punch through. In fact, it’s dead-easy driving. All you’ve got to do is keep the steering pointed in roughly the right direction and not do anything too dumb with the pedal connected to the supercharged 5.0-litre direct fuel-injection V8 in the engine bay.Although the Range Rover is often moving at a little more than walking pace, its progress depends on messages zipping at near the speed of light through its electrical system. The CAN (controller area network) relays messages from the Rangie’s battalions of sensors to its computerised command and control centre.The data is fed to algorithms (mathematical formulas that respond with military precision to incoming information) and orders sent to engine, brakes and suspension.Little mental effort and even less physical activity is required of the driver. It’s simply a matter of taking a look at what’s ahead, and twisting the Terrain Response dial to match the view. This Land Rover trademarked tech isn’t new, but it’s been improved for the updated 2010 Range Rover (and Rangie Sport and Discovery 4, too). Simple graphics, rather than words, are used to indicate its various modes.They are, going clockwise round the dial, Snowflake, Fir Tree, Cactus and Driving Over Beach Ball. It’s not hard to figure out that modes one and three are for snow and sand driving. The second turns out to be for muddy forest trails, like Eastnor, while the last is for crawling over big rocks rather than inflatable playthings.Each setting trims the Range Rover’s pneumatic suspension to the best height for the conditions, and invokes specific software to optimise the activity of the traction, brake and drivetrain control systems for the surface selected.Depending on the speed desired, the driver may have to make a couple of supplementary decisions. Need to crawl? Flick a switch to select low-range gearing, press a button for Hill Descent Control and the Rangie goes into slo-mo.The way the Range Rover lumbers unstoppably through the Eastnor mud is a convincing demonstration of the power and flexibility of contemporary automotive electronic tech. It would be easy to take it for granted, but for a reminder of the way things used to be. Not so long ago, either.As well as the fleet of 2010 Range Rovers, there are a bunch of museum pieces available for driving, though only in the less challenging environment of Eastnor Castle’s almost mud-free deer park. Some of them were developed here, as the estate has been used by Land Rover for off-road testing since the 1960s.The presence of these old-timers makes a point about Land Rover’s long-time expertise in off-roadery and the brand’s iconic status. There are two tiny 1949 Series I Land Rovers, a military 101-inch forward-control, a Series III wagon, one of a group of Defender pick-ups made up for an appearance in a Lara Croft movie, and a 1993 Range Rover.Driving them all, in as close to chronological order as possible, the similarities between old and young are striking. There may be more than 40 years difference in age between a Series I Land Rover and the mid-1990s Range Rover, but the relationship, the line of technical descent, can be felt.Most obviously, both require the manipulation of levers for such tasks as the selection of low-range gearing and engagement of parking brakes. The absence of smart electronics makes the 1993 Range Rover closer, technologically, to a Series I Land Rover than a 2010 Rangie.While the latest Range Rovers show what digital tech can do for the off-roader, is this what their customers really need? Company executives cheerfully admit that the great majority of Range Rover customers never ever drive off-road.What the average Range Rover buyer really wants is an impressive amount of luxury and performance. For many customers it is, in the words of one Land Rover marketing exec, their “business limousine”. This is fine, but isn’t the likelihood of finding profit at the end of a muddy track through a damp forest rather low?While the marketing types blather on about the breadth of capability that the typical Range Rover buyer (wealthy and, with an average age below 50, younger than other luxe brand customers) desires, and how this justifies the focus on off-road capability, the engineers who worked on the 2010 model are more in touch with reality. Their objectives were to increase performance, lower fuel use and improve dynamics.Jointly developed with Jaguar, the 2010 Range Rover’s pair of new petrol-burning 5.0-litre V8s nails the first two targets. The 375kW supercharged and the 276kW naturally-aspirated versions bring big increases in power compared to their predecessors.The atmo direct-injection engine almost matches the old supercharged engine’s output, while the new supercharged brings a 29 percent power boost, yet both engines cut consumption by around seven percent. These are very, very good V8s; flexibly potent (especially the supercharged), authoritatively responsive, yet wonderfully refined. (There’s a diesel option, too, but it’s the same 3.6-litre V8 as before).Changes to the Range Rover’s suspension are significant, with the headline item a new adaptive damping system. There’s also a new variable ratio steering system, and brake hardware is upgraded. As with the Terrain Response for off-roading, the Range Rover’s on-road electronics have been upgraded. There’s fresh software to a) tame understeer, and b) sense a potential rollover and take corrective action.On the blacktop of the Herefordshire countryside around Eastnor, the 2010 Range Rover is a majestic thing to drive. It rides with stately grace, and steers with surprising precision. But agile it is not. The Range Rover is tall and its kerb weight more than 2700kg.And this is a problem. Despite the improvements in fuel efficiency from the new engine, the supercharged V8 Range Rover delivers a 22.6L/100km result in the European urban fuel consumption test cycle. Long experience indicates most drivers are more likely to achieve real-world consumption closer to this number than the 14.9L/100km combined cycle results.How much does the Range Rover’s seldom used off-road hardware add to its thirst? Hard to say. What is certain is that such heavy consumption is becoming less acceptable every day, especially in Europe.This is a trend Land Rover’s leadership knows it must respond to. Design director Gerry McGovern admits that Land Rover can no longer afford to be “harnessed” by its heritage. Sustainability must be taken seriously, but with a close eye on cost. “It’s about selecting technologies,” he observes, but one direction is quite clear. “We will focus on reducing weight”.Managing director Phil Popham admits that recent times have been tough going for Land Rover, which has had three different owners in the past decade; BMW (1994-2000), Ford (2000-2008) and Indian company Tata (2008-present). “It’s been very difficult under Tata, for a number of reasons,” says the executive, noting that Tata bought just in time for the GFC.Yet Popham is a big-picture type who sees opportunities ahead. “It may not feel like it right now, but the world is becoming more affluent.” This “is likely to continue,” he adds. And growing wealth means a growing global customer base for some brands. Popham’s view is that Land Rover is one of them, noting that the small premium SUV market presently is the world’s fastest growing segment. And he promises deeper cuts to fuel consumption are coming. “We will have hybrids in future,” he promises.Land Rover has always been good in the deep brown stuff. If it makes the right decisions, builds the right products, it will find the traction to haul itself out of the mire. But the next Range Rover to emerge from the merde seems sure to be a quite different beast from today’s.
Hybrid tech’s green image is about to get a big red go-fast stripe, with news that Ferrari’s first petrol-electric powered road car will be revealed at the Geneva motor show in early March.
According to Italian media, the 599 ibrido (that’s Italian for hybrid) will be labelled a concept, but Ferrari executives have made no secret of their interest in putting petrol-electric power into production.While massively cutting city-driving fuel consumption, the compact parallel-hybrid system will apparently also slightly improve performance and handling, according to a report in respected Italian monthly Quattroruote.The 599 hybrid reportedly uses electric motor technology loosely based on the company’s Formula One KERS (kinetic energy recovery system).Max power of the electric motor is thought to be around 30-35kW, with its power coming from a 30kg lithium-ion battery pack, recharged solely through energy recovered during deceleration and braking.Total weight of the system will be approximately 50kg. Like the other hybrid system components – electric motor, cooling system, electronics – the battery pack snuggles beside the 599’s rear-mounted transaxle, a location which may improve the car’s weight distribution.The 599 hybrid, which will also feature a stop-start system, won’t be able to run in pure electric mode. However, Quattroruote estimates a cut of 35 percent in urban fuel consumption. As the regular V12’s urban thirst is a massive 27.0L/100km, this represents a saving of almost 9.5L/100km.An improvement over the petrol 599’s 0-100km/h time of 3.7sec is also expected for the hybrid. The electric motor will be used not only to boost low-end torque, but also to fill in the interruption of V12 power while the sequential six-speeder swaps ratios.
Picture this; you’re driving to work on a regular weekday. You weave your way around your neighbourhood and make your way onto the freeway which appears clear for now.
Its the start of a long day, hundreds of thoughts preoccupy your mind the least of which is the impatient driving of the car behind you, but at the very last second you see a flash in your rear vision mirror and then you feel it; the sudden unstoppable crash coming from the rear.It forces your head against the headrest and makes you feel the tight grip of your seatbelt. Luckily you had your foot on the brake and left enough distance to the car in front of you to avoid hitting them. But the shocking feeling remains, you’re dazed and confused – you have just been involved in a car accident and now you’re not sure what to do?This scenario is played out all too often in our cities. And there seems to be not enough information around to what to do if it happens to you. But there are of course things you should never do…
Don’t get angry.
After you realised you and your passengers are ok you’ll have adrenalin running through your body and you’ll just want to get out and go ape at the driver who just ruined your morning.This won’t accomplish anything. Don’t jump out of the car, instead take a breath and turn off the car if its still running. It still might be in gear, or you might be on a slight hill, so stop the car, put the automatic gearbox into P or manual into Neutral and pull up the handbrake. This only takes a second and it can be often overlooked. Turn on your hazard lights too.
Don’t ignore your passengers.
You can be often so wound up that you totally forget that your mother in law was in the passenger’s seat. If you have any passengers, check their condition. Don’t just assume they are ok if they say so. Sometimes people do not realise they are injured or hurt. Physically inspect your passengers. Really make sure everyone is fine. If someone is injured and you don’t have first aid training, call Emergency assistance immediately, 000, ask them to guide you through the right steps. Moving someone that is injured could hurt them further.
Don’t just leave your car there.
Once you and any passengers or bystanders are OK, look at the car and situation you are in. Is it leaking petrol? Take note. Warn others to stay back. If you are still stopped in the middle of a freeway and your car is driveable, move it off the road. Don’t worry about anyone else involved in the accident yelling at you just yet, simply drive your car and park it. If you were responsible for the accident, do the same. If the other party involved thinks you will just drive off let them call the Police. The first thing the Police will do when they arrive is to move the cars off the road. You are only moving your car a few meters and not leaving the scene. Relatively minor accidents where the cars are still perfectly driveable are a major cause of massive traffic disruptions. The traffic behind you can bank up for kilometres, so clear the road as soon as you can. If the car is beyond driving, keep clear from the road and warn oncoming traffic of the accident.
Don’t forget to get all details.
Now is the time to exchange details. Provide your name, address as it appears on your licence, date of birth, licence number and state, car registration (number plate) and any insurance policy details (usually name of insurer and policy number).Obtain the same details for any other drivers involved. Also take note of the make model and colour of any cars involved and the location and time and date of the accident. If you have a mobile phone with a camera, use it to photograph the location and the damage to the cars.One important detail here is to never admit fault or claim responsibility. Leave that to the Police or insurance companies. Also if there are any witnesses available or the Police have arrived, note their names and details. It also can help to sketch out a diagram of the accident, especially if there were more than two cars involved.Once this is completed, you are free of your obligations and can continue on your journey. Call the Police if a person has been killed or injured, the other party fails to stop or supply details, a vehicle has been towed, any property has been damaged. If any driver involved appears to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, also call the Police as soon as you can.Accidents should always be reported to the Police, and this can be done by filling out an Accident Report Form at any Police station at a later date.
Don’t wait to call your insurance company.
Do it as soon as you can. Some policies may have a clause which voids the claim if it is not reported by a certain time. Even if your car is drivable, call them as soon as you can. They can arrange towing if needed and will guide you along the repair process. You pay them to help you, so make use of their services.Yes, accidents are stressful and annoying for all involved. Keeping calm, alert and following logical procedures means that you can get on your way quickly and without causing more undue stress.
The story goes that Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, manager of Scuderia Ferrari in the mid-1970s, was lured back to run the company after privately buying a Ferrari 348 and loathing it.While it was fast and good-looking, he found it cramped, impractical and unsophisticated. Under his direction since 1991, Ferraris have left those bad old days behind.All of which helps put the Ferrari F40 of 1987 into context. And explains why, nearly a quarter of a century later, the F40 is still one of the world’s brawniest and most awe-inspiring supercars.The F40 was launched ostensibly to mark Ferrari’s 40th anniversary. It’s also said that the car was meant as an ultimate performance statement on behalf of Enzo Ferrari, who had seen his beloved prancing horses hobble through the decade in Formula One. Only 14 months after personally presenting the F40 at Maranello, Ferrari himself took the chequered flag at age 90.The F40 was every inch a product of the 1980s F1 ‘turbo era’. It made no apology for the rawness of its exposed carbonfibre and Kevlar, the uncompromised (and uncompromising) handling of its rear-drive chassis, or the hand-grenade delivery of its twin-turbocharged and intercooled V8.The latter, and indeed the car itself, owes much to the 288 GTO of 1984. This Group B omologazione special was loosely based on the road-going 308, but in reality had a very different and significantly longer, composite-reinforced steel spaceframe chassis with a twin-turbocharged, 2.85-litre V8, mounted longitudinally.Prior to the Group B category’s death-knell in 1986, Ferrari built a batch of five evoluzione versions of the GTO. Extensively modified for racing (and, incredibly, rallying), these featured stronger chassis sills, bigger turbos and droop-nosed aero-bodywork that, like the chassis, laid the foundation for the F40 that followed.The F40’s engine, designated F120A, displaced 2936cc and, with 1.1 bar boost, developed 356kW. The five-speed gearbox was another GTO carry-over. The non-structural body was Ferrari’s first all-composite effort, its only obvious link with production models being the 308-sourced windscreen.Race-car sparseness helped keep weight down to 1200kg, giving 0-100km/h in just 4.4 seconds and making the F40 the world’s first production car to exceed 200mph (322km/h).Ferrari had planned to build only 400 examples of the F40 (the 288 GTO had wound down at 272). However, so great was demand in the yuppie-fuelled late-1980s – even more so after Enzo’s death in August, 1988 – that production of the F40 eventually reached 1311 units, excluding prototypes, before ceasing in 1992.
If you live in one of Australia’s major cities, then you would have at some point in your driving career, encountered that maddening event known as traffic.
When the freeways are clogged, and the back streets are even worse, strange things happen. Drivers zone into their own world, often oblivious to what is happening around them.Taking some time to observe motorists in their native environment has revealed some curious habits. Some people use their time spent in traffic to their advantage. Many of us may have seen the odd nose pick, or the last minute lip-stick application, but some of the more extreme examples of peculiar behaviour go much further.It has been portrayed in a television commercial, but actually seeing someone eat their breakfast in traffic was a little shocking. And it was a bowl of cereal with milk and a spoon. A self-contained breakfast drink with a straw would have been a better alternative, almost all modern cars have cup holders for a reason.Then there was the one driver who took multitasking to a new level, the hands-free phone was working as the driver’s chin didn’t stop wagging, the satellite navigation system needed updating, so the right hand was operating that and the left hand was turning the pages of the newspaper situated on the passenger seat, which hand was left to do the driving was one concern.Then there are the drivers who are actually devoting their efforts to driving, but change lanes more often than NSW changes its Premier. They are the drivers who are obviously in a rush, yet may not have the local knowledge and experience of which lane moves better in which area. They change lanes as soon as a gap appears, all the while you stay in one lane and make better progress than Mr ants in his pants.Another unusual creature is from the doof doof species, they often have a stereo system with more power than what is driving the car. Nearly always seen with at least one window open, an arm hanging out of the car and sunglasses on even when it is cloudy, the main cause of distress to other motorists comes from the fact that their stereo is always turned way past “11”.The most noticeable sound heard from the car is the vibration of number plates and loose body panels, while the driver is completely unaware of what is happening around him. Don’t bother sounding your horn when they merge a little too close in front of you, they won’t hear it over their subwoofers.So what should you actually do while in traffic? Concentrating on driving would be the best thing to do, as it’s often a lack of concentration that causes the traffic in the first place. Channel surfing on the radio is a relatively safe option, made more so by steering wheel mounted audio controls. The one thing that usually works to improve your mood, even in the worst traffic delays, is to just remind yourself that you aren’t on public transport.Next time you are stuck in that nasty traffic, try to pay attention to what people are doing in their cars, while maintaining your focus on driving of course. Some things may shock you, others may inspire you. Either way, you’re not going anywhere fast.
You may be aware that smaller cars usually use less fuel than larger cars.
Did you also know that your registration fees can be almost half that of a larger car? It’s not just the fuel savings that make owning a smaller car a sensible choice for modern motorist. Registration, tyres and other running costs are significantly lower for smaller cars.For years Australia’s biggest selling cars have been large sedans. It’s only in recent time that we have started to consider smaller alternatives and with modern design making smaller cars just as safe as their larger alternatives, the case for the “big Aussie six” is getting weaker.It seems that most state governments are in agreement with this and many have started offering incentives to drive smaller cars.In NSW for instance, the registration costs for a car weighing under 975kg is $231 while the fee for a car weighing between 1505kg and 2504kg is almost double at $406.Queensland’s registration costs are similar to NSW, however their system works on the number of cylinders the car’s engine has. A 4-cylinder powered car costs $262 a year, while a 6-cylinder engined car costs $415 and a V8 costs $581.90, more than double that of the 4-cylinder.SA’s system is similar to Queensland, in that the categories are grouped into the configuration of the car’s engine. 4-cylinder cars cost $99 a year, 5 or 6 cost $201 and 7 or more cost $292. In Western Australia their system is even more specific, in that a set fee per 100kg is charged, meaning that a 1000kg vehicle costs around $167 while a 1600kg car costs $267. Victoria seems to be a little behind the trend here in having a flat fee for all private cars.Another significant saving to be had with smaller cars is with tyres. Modern large cars have wheel sizes that have grown dramatically in recent times. 16-inch wheels are only found on base models, with 17-inches and upwards being the norm.If you have the sports variant of a large sedan, such as the Holden Commodore SS, than 18 or even 19-inch wheels are standard fare. A single 19-inch tyre of a comparable standard to the factory fitment retails for upwards of $400.A similar quality tyre for a small car may be a 15-inch size and retail for around $150. Multiply that by 4 and you have a saving of $1000. The savings are even more significant if you compare a small car to a large 4WD.Servicing costs are another major expense for motorists, and that varies more on the manufacturer and who is doing the servicing more so than the size or configuration of the car. It is however, worth considering these costs, as well as the service intervals, when looking at purchasing your next car.Sure if you have a large family, or have towing requirements, a large car is still often the winning choice, just be aware that it can cost you considerably more on a daily basis. Not just on fuel. Now that modern small and medium cars perform well, have similar luxury features to their larger counterparts and are often just as safe in crash tests.When it all adds up, it really is worth a lot more to downsize.
Get up close and a little too personal with Jeremy Clarkson in this month’s special 3D edition of TopGear.
Slip on the 3D glasses and become immersed as Clarkson manhandles the brilliantly brutal new Ferrari 458. Okay, it’s not as good as Avatar, but it ain’t bloody bad. Here’s what Clarkson thinks of the car…Ferocious? Ferocious might as well be defined in the New Oxford as ‘Ferrari 458 Italia at full blast’ for evermore.Ferocious is the word that went through my head once I’d parked the 458 and thought about it and tried to shake the ringing out of my ears and failed. It’s a ferocious car – ferociously exciting and ferociously brilliant and ferociously fast.And now we’ve driven it on British roads for the first time. What is it about Pommy roads? They seem to have a special ability to throw a lot of cars from the continent all askew.It’s something about the way the roads flow, the way the bumps and holes are ‘constructed’ and the way the cambers work – or don’t – that seems to add up to a unique type of stress for a car’s chassis.Ferraris have failed this test in the past. We expect this new $580,000 458 to pass with flying colours.The 458 feels faster than its figures would suggest, and the figures suggest a lot – 419kW, 325km/h, 3.4 seconds to 100km/h and about 7.5 seconds to 160.The new direct-injection engine is deafening once the baffles in the exhaust pipes are open, and as the revs build toward the 9000rpm cut-out – yeah, 9000rpm in a 4.5-litre V8! – so does the scream, a high-pitched, rasping wail that’s even more stirring than the last of the previous-generation mid-engined Ferraris, the stripped-out and raw 430 Scuderia. Now obsolete.
The ugliest cars ever built!
