Articles by Karla Pincott

New South Wales has splurged on car bling this year, nearly doubling the 2012 spend – but cutting back on servicing. However Victoria has been more caring of its cars, increasing the amount spent on servicing, although still laying out more than last year on accessories.In a review of the cost of motoring on the eastern seaboard, conducted by Bingle insurance, NSW spent $464 million on accessorising, an increase of 96 per cent over the $237m in 2012. Victoria was more conservative with the bling, ringing up $185m, an increase of just 50 per cent, while Queensland pulled back 29 per cent on last year’s $126m to shell out just $90m in 2013.Victoria led the three states in servicing, upping its spend 14 per cent to $2.45 billion from $2.15b in 2012, followed by Queensland’s 7 per cent rise at $1.8b (from $1.68b). However NSW cut back on servicing,  spending $2.75b – 2 per cent down on 2012’s $2.8b.However NSW led the increase in car maintenance with $939m (up 23 percent) with Victoria spending $246m for a more modest rise of 4 per cent and Queensland up 6 per cent at $135m.The tropical state had the biggest increase in tyre costs with a rise of 21 per cent to $590m, while NSW shopped up 7 per cent at $939m and Victoria cutting back 21 per cent to $498m.With all other categories of expenditure taken into account, NSW led on both overall and per-head spending, splashing out $4.94b, or $1098 per person this year – up 8 per cent. Victoria followed with $3.39b, $998 per head and up 2 per cent, while Queensland was $2.72b, $908 per head and 5 per cent up.However the per head expenditure on servicing put NSW at the tail of the trio with $612, beaten by Queensland on $647 and Victoria leading on $702.Bingle expressed concern about the emphasis on accessories in NSW at the same time as servicing spend reduced."It’s concerning that shopping on items such as car stereos, GPS devices, steering wheel covers, seat covers, smartphone car fixtures and other decorations, has increased, but investing in basic car servicing has declined," Bingle spokesperson Marcela Balart says. "The danger is that drivers appear to be splashing out on car accessories at the expense of ensuring their vehicles are properly serviced and in the best state to be on the roads."While the research is restricted to the three eastern states at this stage, Balart said the results covered a large proportion of the country’s drivers. "These three states make up the majority of drivers in Australia with the highest number of vehicles on the road -- 75 per cent -- so it could potentially be indicative of trends across the country," she said.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

Porsche will full reveal the new Macan SUV at the Los Angeles show in about a week, but details of the crossover range's outputs and weights have purportedly just leaked online from a Chinese brochure. The spec sheet, leaked by Autohome in China, appears to show the power outputs and curb weights of the Macan S, Macan S Diesel and Macan Turbo.The sheet notes the entry level Macan S's twin-turbo 3.0-litre engine as developing 250kW of power and 460Nm of torque, while the diesel model's 3.0-litre V6 offers 190kW and 580Nm. The top-spec Macan Turbo's twin-turbo direct-inject 3.6-litre V6 is cited giving 294kW and 550Nm.The Turbo might be the post powerful, but it's also the weightiest, tipping the scales at 1947kg, compared with the Macan S at 1928kg and the diesel at 1898kg.The brochure also mentions 0-100km/h accleration figures for all three drivetrains, with the Macan S Diesel managing 6.2 seconds, the petrol Macan S 5.5 seconds. and the Turbo a very impressive 4.8 seconds. As previously reported -- when the last tidbits were leaked -- Porsche may also later bring a lower base model four-cylinder engine to the Macan range.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

The popular Mazda CX-5 SUV has been given improved ride and handling characteristics with updated dampers, bushes and stabilisers, kitted it out with some new features -- including extra safety tech -- plus a few fresh colours.The mid-spec CX-5 Maxx Sport scores a Safety Pack option comprising auto-dimming rearview mirror, blind spot monitoring and the 'city braking' system that can automatically bring you to a complete stop at speeds up to 30km/h.The top-spec Akera model now gets the system as a standard feature, plus (along with Grand Touring models) six-way memory setting for both front seats.Two new blues -- Blue Reflex Mica and Deep Crystal Blue Mica -- join the wardrobbe, all automatic variants get a new straight-shift gear lever, and from Maxx Sport up, alloy wheels get an updated silver finish.Prices have risen slightly on the Grand Touring (up $400) and Akera (up $800) but other models remain unchanged.Mazda CX-5 updated range                                                                               2.0L petrol FWD Maxx man $27,880 (unchanged)2.0L petrol FWD Maxx auto $29,880 (unchanged)2.0L petrol FWD Maxx Sport auto $33,620 (unchanged)2.0L petrol FWD Maxx Sport auto with Safety Pack $35,110 (new)2.5L petrol AWD Maxx auto $32,880 (unchanged)2.5L petrol AWD Maxx Sport auto $36,620 (unchanged)2.5L petrol AWD Maxx Sport auto with Safety Pack $38,110 (new)2.2L diesel AWD Maxx Sport auto $39,470 (unchanged)2.2L diesel AWD Maxx Sport auto with Safety Pack $40,960 (new)2.5L petrol AWD Grand Touring auto $44,180 (+$400)2.2L diesel AWD Grand Touring auto $47,030 (+$400)2.5L petrol AWD Akera auto $46,570 (+$800)2.2L diesel AWD Akera auto $49,420 (+$800)

Lexus has given the Lexus CT200h a mid-life upgrade for 2014, and released images ahead of the hybrid five-door hatchback's official unveiling later this month. The revision shows changes to exterior styling, including the new spindle grille that's been spreading across the Lexus family's faces.Restyled bumpers and alloy wheel designs largely comprise the rest of the facelift, with no word of any changes under the bonnet. The CT200h is likely to carry over its Prius-sourced drivetrain, with a 73kW/142Nm 1.8-litre engine coupled with a 60kW/207Nm electric motor -- which also performs the role of generator and starter motor -- and mated to a continuously-variable transmission.There was some thought that Toyota may update to a lithium-ion battery pack, moving on from the heavy and less efficient nickel-metal hydride. However the cheapness of the latter is likely to have won out, especially as Lexus is expected to be looking at strategic pricing that could lower the CT200h's $39,990 entry price to better arm it against the latest crop of rivals in the premium hatch sector.More details will be revealed when the CT200h is unveiled at the Guangzhou Motor Show in China on November 21, and is set to arrive here in the first half of next year.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

Purists will think this a sacrilegious abomination of design. A 1968 Jaguar E-Type has been unveiled as the world's first stretched example -- with a matching trailer -- and will go on display at a coming UK motoring event.The US-based owner has had his left-hand drive car stretched 4.5 inches by UK's Classic Motor Cars, whose managing director described the result as being what the storied Jaguar brand should have done with their design.“The car is phenomenal to drive. This is the E-Type that Jaguar Cars should have built. The extra space makes all the difference and actually alters the whole attitude of the car,” Nick Goldthorp said.Owner Paul Branstad had CMC rebuild the car after a front end crash, and stretch it during the restoration. He also had them build a trailer from two E-Type rear ends to tow behind it -- with a removable tow hitch and a hitch mechanism hidden behind the car's reversing light.Branstad said he's named the creation The Kaizen, from the Toyota principle of “understand the imperative to make continuous improvements and then get to work” -- adding he thinks the E-Type's designer Malcolm Sayer would have approved of the changes.“The stretched E-Type I have conceived sits between the Series I and the subsequent vehicles produced after the merger and formation of British Leyland, when the design of the cars underwent several transformations as a consequence of cuts in production costs and the need for more space that resulted in the Series II 2+2 and Series III V12,” Branstead said.The extra length gives the legroom of the Series 3 V12 E-Type (which was 9 inches longer than the Series 1, with the extra space largely going to rear storage), while the roof has been raised 1.25 inches and the boot floor dropped and reshaped to accommodate a 20-gallon tank and wider spare wheel. CMC have also upgraded the airconditioning, power steering, brakes, gearbox and suspension.“The four and a half inches added to the Kaizen E-type could make the car even more beautiful than the original Series I edition,” Branstad said. “Perhaps this car would have represented the very last chance for Malcolm Sayer to apply his ideas for the E-Type.”This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

We're still a week out from the Los Angeles motor show, and Subaru has teased a photo of the 2015 WRX that will be unveiled there -- which was followed by renderings claiming to be leaked images.Certainly, the latter artwork pretty closely follows the cues of the Subaru one, which is our first official look at the car, and shows some of the nose details previewed on the concept at the New York motor show earlier this year.There's the signature bonnet scoop flanked by prominent creases, and a black mesh lower fascia intake and hexagonal grille with lines flowing to sharp, elongated headlights integrated into the swelling wheel arches.Subaru hasn't yet confirmed details of the all-wheel drive cars, but the WRX is expected to be powered by a 2.0-litre boxer four-cylinder -- closely related to the engine in the BRZ but with Subaru’s own direct-injection system (rather than the BRZ's Toyota-sourced one) and a turbocharger to lift the output of the current model’s 198kW and 330Nm.The 2015 WRX STi also being unveiled at the show will carry the same engine but with power squeezed up to 227kW or more, with the performance improved by a lighter weight, better aerodynamics and retuned suspension.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

The first Australian single-digit number plate to go to auction since 2007 is expected to draw big interest from Chinese investors. The Q8 plate is estimated to go for up to $500,000 when it hits the block in Brisbane on November 14, with dealers Plates.com.au saying the wealth and luck believed to be attached to the number 8 in Chinese culture could see it command a record-breaking price for a Queensland plate. "We expect to see aggressive bidding from astute buyers in Queensland, interstate Australia, Hong Kong and potentially, mainland China. It’s an extremely rare opportunity to secure a blue chip investment and a piece of Queensland history," Plates.com.au boss Stewart Kay said. "This would be the perfect long-term investment for a local business or corporation dealing with the Asian market and picking up international guests. We see particular value for our casinos with high rollers who believe the number eight symbolises great prosperity and luck." The Q8 plate has been in the hands of a NSW investor for decades, and is the first Australian single digit plate to hit the auction block since NSW 6 reportedly changed hands for more than $1 million following a 2007 auction. The auction will take place at the Lamborghini Showroom, 358 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley at 7pm on Thursday November 14. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott    

Want to know if a Jeep Cherokee can climb stairs. Yes, us too. So Chrysler puts them over the obstacle as part of durability testing at the carmaker's Chelsea Proving Grounds in Michigan. Part of four million pre-production test miles -- about 6.4 million kilometres -- the 2014 Jeep Cherokee underwent, the torture included the usual rough tracks plus the stairs to mimic boulders and ledges, a lateral load track of twisting corners, wheel lift mounds for suspension articulation, and rollers that echo a slippery or icy surface. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott Watch the 2014 Jeep Cherokee torture test video here.

The Prancing Horse brand is about to launch an even prancier version of the already snorting 458 Challenge. Called the 458 Challenge Evoluzione, the new car -- set to be fully revealed later today -- draws on the experience the Italian supercar maker has gained in GT racing. Ferrari says that experience has led to aerodynamic improvements, most notable in this first image with a leviathan rear wing to produce increased downforce, balanced at the nose by modifications to the splitter and floor. This "allows drivers to make full use of the 458 Challenge Evoluzione's dynamics and performance, extending its limits and those of the driver, while improving performance both in terms of laps times and over long distances," the Ferrari teaser statement says. The donor 458 Challenge's mid-mounted 4.5-litre V8 engine carries over without any increases to the 419kW of power and 540Nm of torque, but Ferrari has modified the gear ratios and calibration to deliver peak torque earlier and has added its first electronic differential for a track car. Interested buyers will have to wait a little while to hear the price, but those who already own one of the 458 Challenges -- first launched in 2010 overseas for the 2011 one-marque season -- will be able to upgrade with the Evoluzione pack. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

A Ducati dealer in the US has spoofed its own 'bike and babe' photo series with a new set featuring 'bike and bloke'.Moto Corsa in Portland, Oregon, had originally posted a seDUCATIve series of wallpapers featuring a model named Kylie and a Ducati Panigale. They've now followed up with a 'Manigale' series featuring what looks like their Ducati customers -- or perhaps their workshop crew."The CorsaCrew was complaining about our model Kylie getting to have all the fun, plus we had to listen to all the ladies who are sick and tired of bikes with bikini babes," the Moto Corsa website says.The results are hilarious, not least because it highlights the ridiculous poses in which women are often placed when photographed with bikes, cars -- or anything really. And they probably didn't need to put the blokes in high heels to make their point.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott