Articles by Karla Pincott

The recall involves LandCruiser 70 Series wagon, troop carrier, single and double cab chassis models fitted with ABS brakes, and the notice cites a defect in the flexible brake hose bracket on the front differential. Under certain conditions, this bracket could fracture around the securing bolt and break, resulting in brake fluid leaking and a loss of braking ability.If the problem occurs, the lack of braking power could increase the risk of collision. However Toyota Australia spokesman Mike Breen says there has been only one incident reported locally, but with no injuries.He says owners of the affected LandCruisers -- estimated to be about 22,000 around the world and 14,000 in Australia -- should take their vehicles to a Toyota dealership to have them inspected. "Not all of the LandCruisers will be affected, but some will need to have the bracket and hose replaced if needed.The recall affects Toyota LandCruiser VDJ7# models  built between May 2012 through to March 2014. The VIN range covers the following: JTE EV73J# 00008761 - 00010163; JTE RV71J# 00005989 - 00006736; JTE RV73J# 09001428 - 09001708; JTE BV71J# 04000001 - 04005420; JTE LV71J# 00028750 - 00033096; and JTE LV73J# 09010556 - 09014211. The VIN number for your vehicle is located on the build plate in the engine bay.

Toyota HiAce has been given a fresh look for 2014 along with updates that expand its safety, comfort and convenience. Redesigned bumpers freshen the front, while the more car-like interior gets a bucket seat for the front passenger, separated from the driver's seat by a centre-console box.The HiAce, which is available in both van and light bus configuration, now gets cruise control and audio switches on the new four-spoke steering wheel, as well as an LCD Multi-Information Display showing the time, outside temperature and odometer. A safety package adds in seatbelt warning buzzers for the front row and dash warning for the front passenger seat.Changes have been made to the front-end with newly designed headlamps with daytime running lamps and radiator grille openings that are larger and adopt Toyota's trademark trapezoidal shape.The HiAce is offered with Long WheelBase (LWB) van, wide-body and high-roof Super Long WheelBase (SLWB) body styles, with the choice of either a 2.7-litre VVT-i equipped petrol or 3.0-litre common-rail turbodiesel engines, mated to five-speed  manual or four-speed automatic transmissions.No price increases for the van, while the bus has risen just $500. The HiAce has been a popular seller since first arriving in Australia in 1971. Last year saw it take 35.5 per cent of the van market with 6,622 sales and almost 72.4 per cent of the light bus market with 2,193 sales.Toyota HiAce pricesToyota HiAce petrol LWB van (manual) from $32,990Toyota HiAce petrol LWB van (auto) from $35,490Toyota HiAce petrol SLWB van (manual) from $40,990Toyota HiAce petrol SLWB van (auto) from $43,490Toyota HiAce petrol Commuter (manual) bus from $53,490Toyota HiAce petrol Commuter (auto) bus from $55,990Toyota HiAce diesel LWB van (manual) from $36,990Toyota HiAce diesel LWB van (auto) from $39,490Toyota HiAce diesel SLWB van (manual) from $44,990Toyota HiAce diesel SLWB van (auto) from $47,490Toyota HiAce diesel Commuter (manual) bus from $57,490Toyota HiAce diesel Commuter (auto) bus from $59,990This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

There's a traditional warning that actors should never work with children or animals -- both having screen appeal that lets them upstage any adult cast members in their vicinity.That should probably apply to some cars too. And the Knight Industries Two Thousand, KITT that appeared with David Hasselhoff in the hit 1980s TV show Knight Rider is a good example of how the car can outshine the star.Based on a 1982 Pontiac Firebird, KITT was the car sidekick everybody wanted to roll with. And somebody will get a chance to do just that with the one owned by The Hoff. This car didn't ever appear in the show, but was created from a 1986 Firebird by by Jennifer Catano -- a hardcore fan who goes by the handle IHeartKITT on Twitter. She presented the car as a homage to Hasselhoff, who has appeared with it at several promotional events.It's up for action at Julien's Live in the US, with a starting bid of $15,000 and an estimated final price between $30,000 to $50,000. What will you get for the money? The signature yoked steering wheel, grille lights and scissor doors, plus an inbuilt soundboard with more than 4000 of KITT's voice clips from the show.Unfortunately, as our friends at Motor Authority have noted, there is no Turbo Boost function.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Car brands love April Fools Day, using it as a channel to let off some marketing steam even more ludicrous than some of their regular advertisements and merchandising. And we love it too, because no car idea is too ridiculous to consider.Peugeot is one of the early contenders this year, with a program that allows you to personalise the sound of your car horn. You can make it scream in agony, set it up to play hipster tunes -- the pedestrians might not get out of your way, but they'll at least be dancing -- or have a simpering Marilyn 'boop-de-doop'."This is a hugely exciting development, made possible through the dedication of our team of product designers and sound engineers. And it’s destined to change the way we alert our fellow road users forever," Peugeot says.Acknowledging the hordes of parents who strap their infants into cars for a drive to put them to sleep, BMW has announced the ZZZ Series Ultimate Sleeping Machine - smartphone-controlled cot guaranteed to make Junior nod off with four modes: city drive, open road, race track and offroad."Skilfully blending comfort and style, this innovative premium baby cot embodies the spirit of The Ultimate Driving Machine. A fusion of German engineering and advanced technology means your baby will sleep better, for longer, in safety and comfort," the blurb says.BMW has also promised to 'change the face of motoring' with the launch of artificial G-force technology. The system is designed to morph your face into G-force distortions while you're tootling about at slow commuter speeds.  "The Force Injection Booster (FIB) works by extracting kinetic energy from the car’s engine and converting it into positive g-forces," BMW reckons, while reassuring that the face alteration is not permanent.It comes with the BMW AirNet®, which will apparently blow your 'do' into a high-speed style. Professor Mika Notbetrü, Head of BMW Innovation, describes FIB technology as “Mind-blowingly unbelievable”.The German brand's Mini arm has also got in on the fun, highlighting their British heritage with the Mini Cooper T -- an environmentally friendly vehicle that runs on a tea-leaf biofuel composite.They've obviously been brewing this stunt up for some time, and promise the new model will be offered in a variety of colours including ‘Chamomile Yellow’, ‘Red Bush’ and ‘Earl Grey’."Capable of covering up to 40 miles on a single cup, Cooper T certainly isn’t what you’d call thirsty. It boasts all the standard features you would expect, such as VVT, ABS and DSC, but also benefits from DAT or Dunk Avoidance Technology. This ingenious filtration system stops peckish owners and opportunistic passersby from inserting biscuits into the MINI T’s fuel tank in order to moisten their snacks," Mini says.Watch the desktop version of the make your car horn scream in pain, or play music video here.  This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

Mitsubishi has confirmed it will not develop an Evolution XI to follow the current model, with a spokesperson saying there were no plans for another generation of the iconic rally legend. However while they are farewelling the Evo, there is hope for development of another performance model utilising the Japanese brand's focus on electric vehicles.“Mitsubishi Motors does not have any plans to design a successor with the current concept, as a high-performance four-wheel drive gasoline-powered sedan,” spokesperson Namie Koketsu told Automotive News. “Mitsubishi Motors will explore the possibilities of high-performance models that incorporate electric vehicle technology.”Koketsu stopped short of saying when production of the current generation of the four-wheel drive sedan would halt, but the signals from Mitsubishi for some time have pointed to its demise. The brand has unveiled plans to source its sedan product lines from its alliance with Renault-Nissan, leaving the in-house effort to concentrate on its core strengths of utes and SUVs, and its focus on expanding the electric vehicle line-up.Just a few years ago, the notion of electric motors powering a high-performance car would have seemed unlikely, but with the likes of the BMW i8, Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari -- and news that Audi has put the e-tron R8 back on the table -- it's become a reality.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

The wife of seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is reported to be preparing a £10 million ($17.9 million) medical facility at their family mansion in anticipation of her husband being forced out of his current hospital intensive care unit place.Schumacher has spent the past three months in ICU at France's Grenoble University Hospital after his skiing accident and resultant brain injury at a French snow resort. However former F1 medical expert Dr Gary Hartstein has said it's likely Schumacher will have to exit his ICU bed to make way for other patients -- either more seriously injured, or with better chances of recovery."It's important to remember that Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds are a very limited resource. Every day intensivists are asked to admit critically ill patients to units whose beds are all filled," Hartstein stated in his blog. "The 'chronically critically ill,' patients like Michael who depend on technology (a ventilator) to stay alive, are a tremendous conundrum for ICU personnel. As time goes on it becomes less and less likely that Michael will emerge to any significant extent."The UK's Daily Mail has cited contacts close to the Schumacher family as saying that the F1 champion's wife, Corinna, has spent close to $18 million building a home care unit to anticipate her husband's release from hospital.The Schumacher family currently visits his Grenoble bedside daily, a 120km journey from their home estate on the banks of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. With Schumacher's condition not showing signs of improvement since the accident, and with the process of awakening him from his induced coma still not resulting in independent signs of activity, doctors could decide he would be just as comfortable with highly specialised maintenance care in his home.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

GPS tracking devices have been used by a car theft ring in the UK to steal vehicles, largely targeting those parked at airports. The gang used an insider member at the airport and cloning devices to replicate 'keyless entry' transponders for the cars, attached the trackers, and then stole the vehicles weeks or even months later.Police had for some time been left "scratching their heads" over the crimes, a court heard during the trial of members of the ring, according to a report in The Telegraph.The thieves also targeted vehicles in traffic, causing minor damage to them and then directing them to a repairer who was part of the ring, and who would clone the car's key -- and also fit a tracking device that would allow the theft to take place some time later.Targeted vehicles included an expensive McLaren and Bentley Continental, but were largely mid and upper-level premium brands, including more common Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Range Rover and Land Rover models.The gang was uncovered after police became suspicious about the repairer, and fitted up a 'Trojan' vehicle with recording devices and their own tracking unit, then took it to the body shop. The thieves discovered part of the tracking unit in the undercover vehicle and reversed their attempts to clone its keys. But unbeknownst to them the recording devices were still monitoring all their conversations, including discussions of the Trojan vehicle.The court was told more than 100 of the vehicles stolen were tracked as having been shipped to East Africa for sale. Only one has been recovered.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Porsche is taking the official wraps off new GTS variants of the Boxster and Cayman at New York motor show on April 18, but is trickling out information ahead of the event. We've already been given information about the engines and technology the new range-topping variants will carry, and Porsche is now letting us listen to how that tinkering will sound, with a video of the Boxster GTS in action.What you can hear is its uprated version of the mid-mounted 3.4-litre six-cylinder used in the Boxster S with power upped 11kW and torque 10Nm to 243kW/370Nm. The Cayman gets the same treatment, with the results being 250kW/380NmPurists will probably deplore the use of music in the video, arguing that a Porsche engine needs no further soundtrack help. But while in places the music masks the engine, there's still enough clear air left to give a decent idea of the sound.And it looks the business, with the black badging, wheels and light cluster accents setting off restyled front and rear bumpers and the twin central exhausts.Porsche says the new variants also shave 0.3 seconds in the 0-100km/h sprint, with the Cayman GTS notching 4.6 seconds and the Boxster GTS 4.7 seconds, although those times are for the seven-speed dual clutch auto, not the manual versions.Under their skins they feature standard equipment that is usually an expensive option, including active suspension management and the Sport Chrono pack that work to let you select ride, engine, throttle and steering settings depending on whether you're heading for a track day or a cafe cruise.The Boxster and Cayman GTS will hit overseas showrooms just weeks after their New York show debut, but are not expected to arrive here until after mid-year, with the price tags sitting somewhere above the S models: $126,500 (man) and $131,490 (auto) for the Boxster S and $139,900 (man) and $144,890 (auto) for the Cayman S.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Want to know what it's like to drive the Lamborghini Huracan? We'll have a road test review for you in a few weeks, but until then you can get a taste of the action with Lamborghini's Huracan driving simulator. and that's without having to shell out the $428,000 that will be price tag when the Huracan hits Australia mid-year.Replacing the 10-year-old Gallardo, and carrying an uprated version of its 5.2-litre V10, the Huracan delivers 448kW of power and 560Nm of torque, getting it to all four wheels via a new twin-clutch transmission derived from the system used in VW Group stablemate Audi R8.The four-wheel drive system has also been upgraded, and offers electronically switchable modes -- Strada (road), Sport, and Corsa (race) -- that alter the gearbox and engine settings, exhaust note, drive system and stability control.Official time for the 0-100km/h sprint is 3.2 seconds, with 0-200km/h claimed in 9.9, and a top speed of more than 325km/h -- all while keeping fuel economy to a fairly reasonable (for supercars) 12.5L/100km with the help of a stop-start system and weight-trimming use aluminium and carbon-fibre spaceframe chassis -- also to be shared with the R8 -- that keeps the Lambo to a trim 1422kg. Standard features include carbon-ceramic brakes, with the options list offering magnetic active suspension and electronically controlled variable steering ration system.To try out the simulator, head to the Lamborghini website. It doesn’t work on mobile or tablet, unfortunately, and it may demand you download the latest version of a web player to get the site running, which is a downside. But it's worth those extra minutes to get behind a Huracan wheel -- even just virtually.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

Shooting on the half-finished Fast and Furious 7 film was halted after star Paul Walker and a friend were killed in a car crash last November. Since then, fans have been keen to know what the studio would decide to do with the film, with some fears Walker's character would be written out of the script.Universal Studios announced a couple of months ago that the film would continue, but did not reveal what it would mean for the role of Walker, who has played policeman Brian O'Conner in every one of the series except for Tokyo Drift.Watch: Paul Walker Fast and Furious supercut videoHowever there was always the view that the Fast and Furious formula -- which has taken close to $2.5 billion at the box office -- would be too lucrative to drop. And  it appears that the film will be finished with computer-generated imagery and doubles filling in the scenes Walker had not yet done at the time of his death, according to a report in the New York Daily News.Watch: A look inside: Fast and Furious 6 video.“They have hired four actors with bodies very similar to Paul’s physique and they will be used for movement and as a base,” an insider is cited as saying. “Paul’s face and voice will be used on top using CGI.”Watch: Fast and Furious 6 trailer 3 finalThe studio is reportedly confident that fans will be happy with the result of the film, which will launch in early April, but it's a risky move. However the technology has advanced considerably since previous CGI attempts to fill in for actors who have died during production.Watch: Fast and Furious Five trailerThe digital insertion of Oliver Reed for Gladiator in 1999 was widely panned by both critics and fans. There was also criticism for the CGI filling-in for Heath Ledger after he died in 2008 while still working on Imaginarium of The Doctor Parnassus -- which was also helped by Terry Gilliam rewriting the scipt to account for the character changing his appearance and being played in turn by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law.