Articles by CarsGuide team

...of precision driving and drifting for Toyota Philippines.

US safety authorities have turned to hit television comedy Glee as their latest weapon in the campaign to try and stamp out text-driving.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is using a scene from the show to try and slam home the message that it's dangerous to take your eyes off the road for the five seconds of the average brief text reply.In the scene, Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron) texts friends that she's on her way – and gets t-boned by a ute.“Distracted driving is an epidemic on our roadways, and our youngest and most inexperienced drivers are often the most at risk,” US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said in a statement.“Young people across the country watch ‘Glee,’ and we're thrilled to partner with the show to spread the word that texting and driving don't mix. “I thank the Ad Council, (Glee executive producer and co-creator ) Ryan Murphy, and the cast of ‘Glee’ for their continued efforts to raise awareness about this issue.”Murphy added that the Glee involvement has in part been sparked by the cast's appearance on Oprah. “This was a story we wanted to tell because we know the influence our show can have in starting conversations and raising awareness,” Murphy said.“We were inspired by Oprah Winfrey’s campaign encouraging everyone to sign a pledge not to text and drive, which we all signed when we did her show a few years ago, and we had been looking for an opportunity to tell the story of how a few seconds of carelessness could have a devastating impact on people’s lives.” 

The company reported a 62.13 per cent jump in profit from the previous period from revenue of $3.92 billion, up 17.5 per cent. AHG shares traded at $2.85 today at 10.41am AWST – the highest in the last 12 months and 10c higher than yesterday’s close. The price is also well above the 12 month low of $1.565 paid in December last year. Managing director Bronte Howson said the company’s automotive and logistic divisions delivered strong results for the year – driven by organic growth as well as its acquisitions of the Covs and Harris businesses. Covs more than doubled its earning expectations contributing $6.3 billion, while Harris nearly doubled its bringing in $7 million in earnings before income tax and purchase costs. Earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the group was $153.5 million for the 12 months to June 30 this year. Though well known for its car dealerships, the company’s logistics division provided 30 per cent of that figure with a 59.7 per cent increase in EBITDA from the previous period. The company was hit by a $9.7 million impairment and $3.8 million cost relating to its acquisitions that include its purchased of Toll Holdings’ refrigerated transport business. AHG expects its new cold storage facility in Perth to be operational during the current financial year. The company declared a fully franked final dividend of 11 cents.  

More than 1000 Australian Ford fans voted on Facebook to develop the characteristics of the Falcatron concept, deciding on model, colour name and whether it should be a good Autobot or a baddie Decepticon. They chose the Falcon XR6 Turbo sedan as the starter vehicle, and classic Ford Blue as the base colour. White hats won out over black, with the fan base deciding the concept should be an Autobot. That would put it in the ranks with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee if it were ever to be included in the movie and game franchise. However the Falcatron is for the moment simply concept artwork produced by High Moon studio – the artists behind behind the new game Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, which was released this week. Ford says the concept artwork may be used for future promotional purposes and perhaps competitions. But we’d like to see the Falcotron take a real role in Transformers history. Over to you, Ford fans.  

I've driven lots of cars that park themselves, some that drive themselves and a bunch that do everything they can to stop you killing them — and yourself — including automatic braking.BMW is working on a smart key that allows you to start the car and also unlocks a hotel room, provided of course that your car has made a booking and paid in advance. The next Mercedes-Benz S-Class limousine, due in November, will have not one but a pair of 30cm display screens in the dashboard to handle data transfer — the only way to describe it these days — to the driver and front-seat passenger.Do I like all this technology? Sometimes. Satnav is marvellous when you're out of town or overseas. It's nice to have a range of entertainment choices linked to my iPhone, and Bluetooth has made in-car conversations much safer. Land Rover has a tricky dual-display screen (using alternate-pixel technology) that allows the driver to see the satnav while the passenger plays on Google or watches a movie.It will migrate rapidly to almost everything priced above $35,000. But if the level of distraction in cars today is bad, it's only going to get more toxic. A lot of the future-tech stuff isn't about making driving easier or safer, it's just toys.When I worked (briefly) at Hyundai I discovered buyers were far more likely to pay extra for a better sound system than anti-lock brakes that could save their life. When ABS was packaged with alloy wheels, sales jumped.Fifteen years later, nothing much has changed beyond the cost and complexity. BMW knows the best settings for its hotrod M3 but provides driver-adjustable controls for the steering, transmission and engine so drivers can fiddle and fool themselves that they know better.It's a similar story at Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Even Honda and Hyundai have special "Eco'' settings so we can blame the car if we're not getting optimum fuel economy.The day is coming when GPS and satnav could easily be used to ensure you never break the speed limit. And that's a day I don't want to see.