Articles by Karla Pincott

Toyota has hit back at Ford’s claim to have had the world’s best-selling car last, saying the figures are wrong. Ford announced yesterday that its little Focus had claimed the title for 2012 with 1,020,410 sold around globe. That claim was backed by worldwide registration figures collated by automotive market consultants Polk. However Toyota has said the figures are wrong, as Polk’s count for the Corolla did not include sales of all models. Toyota spokesman Ryo Sakai told Reuters that Toyota sold a total of 1.16 million Corollas. "The sales figure includes Corolla Sedan, which is over 90 percent of the total volume, and the Corolla Altis, Corolla Axio, Corolla Wagon, Corolla Fielder and Corolla Rumion," he said. "Toyota still sees the Corolla as the world's most popular car.” Sakai told Reuters the sales figure does not include Corolla derivatives like the Auris, Auris Hybrid, Verso, E'z, Matrix, Scion xB and Rukus, which do not share the 'Corolla' name.  

The Focus topped the global registrations -- for the second consecutive year -- with 1,020,410 cars.

The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport has just been stripped of its titles as the world’s fastest production car - awarded in July 2010 - after the Guinness World Records team discovered the competing car was not entirely stock. Guinness announced over the weekend that the Super Sport had lost its title because it had its speed-limiter deactivated during the record bid, which flouted the world record regulations. At the record-setting runs, a pre-production Bugatti Veyron hit a top speed of just over 431kmh -- however all 30 Super Sport production cars are limited to just 415kmh. “It has come to the attention of Guinness World Records that there was an oversight in its adjudication of the ‘Fastest production car’ which was set in 2010 by the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport,” the statement from a Guinness spokesman said. “As the car’s speed limiter was deactivated, this modification was against the official guidelines. Consequently, the vehicle’s record set at 431.072kmh is no longer valid. Following this, Guinness World Records is reviewing this category with expert external consultants to ensure our records fairly reflect achievements in this field.” Bugatti has countered by claiming officials at the world record bid were aware the car’s limiter was off. “Guinness knew the Veyron’s speed limiter was deactivated but that for safety reasons, cars subsequently sold to customers would have their speed limiters activated (set at 415kmh),” Bugatti told the UK’s Sunday Times. The title may be handed back to the previous holder, the SSC Ultimate Aero TT which set a time of 412.1kmh before the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport claimed to have topped it. Last week saw the Hennessey Venom GT hit a top speed of 427.6kmh, however that speed was not achieved under official Guinness monitoring conditions. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

The recall is for a defect that means the engine wiring harness has been incorrectly positioned, and can run against parts of the engine – which in the worst cases can cause the vehicle to stall and not restart.Subaru says if the vehicle stalls, it will still have steering and braking ability until it comes to a stop, but can pose a hazard to the occupants and other traffic. The defect can also lead to rough idling of the vehicle and malfunction of the indicators.The recall affects certain Impreza, XV and Forester vehicles built between 20 January and 9 April 2012. Subaru Australia spokesman Dave Rowley says there have been incidents caused by the defect in Australian vehicles.“We’ve had three reports of incidents locally, but none have resulted in accidents,” he says. He says the Australian recall is part of a global recall affecting all right-hand drive markets, including New Zealand, the UK, most of Asia and several countries in the Caribbean and African regions.The wiring harness recall follows Subaru recalling 200,000 vehicles overseas for a brake defect. Subaru is sending a letter to owners of the affected vehicles, who can also contact their local dealer to arrange for an inspection and rectification if required.For further information, owners should call Subaru Customer Relations on 1800 22 66 43. 

The animatronic wizards behind some of the creatures in Prometheus and the Harry Potter films have unleashed a monster you can drive. Not on public roads, of course. And drive is probably not the best word for piloting the six-legged 2.8-metre Mantis Hexapod – even though it’s powered by a 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine.There are no figures on what kind of power and torque the Perkins engine outputs, but it drives the 1900kg Mantis at a leisurely 1kmh – roughly the speed of CBD traffic, then. The creators, Micromagic Systems, say the machine has the potential to speed up to 3kmh if they give it a bit of tinkering under … whatever passes for a bonnet on the Mantis.And if traffic slows to a stop, the 2.8-metre monster’s claim to be the largest all-terrain operational hexapod robot in the world should mean you’ll be able to clamber right over the top of every vehicle in the snarled streets, with the three hydraulic actuators in each leg offering the flexibility to stomp pesky hatchbacks into submission.“This is definitely the largest hexapod we have built so far,” says Micromagic Systems founder and Mantis chief designer Matt Denton. “It’s been called an instant design classic and an inspiring engineering project for the next generation.”The idea for the Mantis was sparked in 2007, he said, and following private funding in 2009 the team spent three years building it. It’s available for hire, and offers you the chance to both drive it from the cockpit – using a computer panel – or remotely via a WiFi link. 

Who wouldn’t like the freedom to double-park without fear of being stung with a hefty fine? A scheme in London has found a way to do just that, in a city where the pain of a fine can also be raised with the additional cost of release from a clamp and car impoundment.Building maintenance firm Aspect.co.uk has found a way around the fines by hiring young people to sit in their vans in traffic while their staff go into premises to perform work.The head of Aspect was reported in British media as saying it was a cheap solution for the business -- with the van-sitters paid about $12 an hour – compared to the fines of around $180 for double-parking, plus the extra cost if the vehicle was wheel-clamped or impounded."No one likes to pay fines. It's crippling and unfair in a lot of cases,” Will Davies told auto website Cars.AOL UK. “But the money paid out in fines can go to excellent use paying for young people to have meaningful employment. Everyone wins."Davies claimed the scheme was within the law, and said Aspect had checked with the London traffic enforcement offices to ensure it was legal. "It's completely legal and trials … have been incredibly successful,” he said.For the moment, the van-sitters are minding only commercial vehicles, but Davies is considering expanding the scheme to offer it to the public. "We are thinking of rolling out the scheme to include anyone who needs a car-sitter while they attend a meeting," he said.And added to fears of the scheme clogging traffic, Carsguide is tipping that if it takes off, it won’t be just meeting attendees swarming to it. For years we’ve seen cars double park in upmarket shopping areas while their drivers ‘just pop inside’ to have their claws sharpened or shoes massaged to a mirror finish.With that kind of financial insolence already around, it’s clear some private drivers feel they can afford the fine – so let them pay it.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Toyota is recalling the 6000 FJ Cruisers in Australia as part of a global recall of about 310,000 of the SUVs from the 2007 through 2013 model years because of a problem involving seat belt retractors.The seat belts for the driver and front passenger are mounted on the rear doors of the FJ Cruiser. Because of the insufficient strength of the rear door panel, cracks could develop over “an extended period of time,” especially if the rear doors are “repeatedly and forcefully” closed.The recall notice says cracks may develop in the lower inner panel of the rear car doors (around the B-pillar) where the front seat belt retractor is anchored. If the cracks occur in the panel, the seat belt retractor could become detached in a collision. Toyota said it has not received any reports of accidents or injuries due to the problem.  Owners will be notified by mail to take their vehicles to Toyota dealers for a free repair. 

Hyundai has released drawings of the HND-9 that points to styling of the Genesis Coupe we’ll get here. Due to be unveiled at Seoul motor show next week, the HND-9 coupe concept uses sleek styling and dramatic proportions aimed at giving a sporty impression. The latest use of Hyundai's 'fluidic' cues means the overlapping planes seen in the current Veloster nose are exaggerated in the HND-9, as are the arabesque graphics seen around the headlights of the i40 -- seen to much better effect on the new concept Strong character lines emphasise the long bonnet, and the horizontal geometrics of the grille enhance the sense of a wide wheelbase and hunkered-down stance. The concept features buttterfly doors, but don’t expect them to make it to the Genesis Coupe – the ETA of which is not confirmed but tipped to be next year. The rear-wheel drive HND-9 is powered by a 272kW 3.3-litre turbo GDi petrol engine – the turbocharged V6 we've been hearing is being developed by Hyundai-Kia, and possibly related to the 3.3 V6 slated for a 2014 Kia Sorento – mated to an eight-speed auto transmission. More technical details will be revealed when the car is unveiled in Seoul next week. Hyundai Australia won’t reveal its target price is for the Genesis Coupe due in 2015, but strategically it would do best starting between $32,000 for the Veloster Turbo and wtihin striking distance of the $40,000 for the top-line Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ twins.     

To find out why your car is giving you ‘check engine’ warning, you’ve had to take it to a mechanic with an expensive diagnostic computer. Until now.A new app and tiny device called Automatic Link -- due to hit the US market in May for about $70 -- will analyse your car’s problems and feed the information to your smartphone.The device plugs into your car’s onboard diagnostics (OBD) port and sends the information to your iPhone via Bluetooth.Automatic Link doesn’t stop at diagnosing your vehicle’s health. It will analyse your fuel use and driving style – and give you a weekly score based on efficiency and safety, with a few hints about how to improve.The device continually monitors engine behaviour, fuel and distance travelled and the smartphone app crunches the data into information that could save you money at the bowser – and in expensive repairs if you ignore an engine alert.Using GPS, it can detect fuel prices at nearby service stations and can remember where you parked your car. And with a built-in accelerometer, the app can sense if you’ve had an accident, alert emergency services – and your next-of-kin -- and lead them to your location. 

Congratulations to Ellie Barnes, Anne Southam, Bob Doyle and Samuel Sullivan -- the winners of our Top Gear Festival family passes worth $180 each.