Articles by Mark Hinchliffe

The company now has MP3 CD compatibility standard across its range, plus auxiliary inputs for MP3 players and even USB connection in some models.The first company in Australia to offer MP3-compatible CD players throughout their range was Hyundai in 2004. That means users have to burn MP3s on to CDs.However, most people now use portable MP3 players, rather than CDs.Some models in some brands offer full compatibility for iPod with track and volume selection through the car's sound system, but this means that users with other brands of MP3 players are not included.Rather than isolating some users, the easiest option is an auxiliary input jack or USB port for MP3 player connection.Users still have to select tracks on the player, but the volume is adjustable through the car's sound system and you don't have to burn CDs.Volvo Car Australia public affairs manager Todd Hallenbeck said Volvo had MP3 CD compatibility right across its range as a standard feature, but now had auxiliary ports with their high performance and premium sound systems.These are standard on all models, except S40 S, S40 D5, V50 S, V50 D5 and the coming C30 S.All XC90 models now have an auxiliary input in the centre console. Plus the XC90 has the rear audio jacks for second and third-row passengers which allows them to listen to radio, CD or MP3 independent of the front seats.All S80 models have a centre console input standard and a USB port available as an accessory.V50, C30, S40 and C70 models have the input discreetly located behind the elegant floating console with a rubber-bottomed tray so the iPod or MP3 player won't get scratched or slide around as the car is driven.However, it makes it a bit difficult for the driver to change tracks on the player.The next XC70 model will have an aux port for MP3 with a USB port as an accessory.

“It would be fair to assume that any new vehicle program so close to launch would be looking to finalise items such as climate-control calibrations and engine ventilation in extreme environments such

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, stars of the round-the-world Long Way Round book, DVD and TV series, are heading from the top of Scotland to the bottom of Africa in Long Way Down.In 2004 they rode around the world on their BMW R1150 GS Adventure motorcycles, from London to New York, east to west, accompanied by a camera crew who recorded the adventures for what became the TV and DVD series.This month the adventurous pair will ride BMW R1200 GS Adventure motorcycles 25,000km from the most northerly point in mainland Britain, John O'Groats, Scotland, to the most southerly point of Africa — Cape Agulhas, South Africa.The tour will take in 20 countries, including Libya, the Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Botswana and the wilds of the Namibian Skeleton Coast.McGregor and Boorman have carefully planned their route to visit those countries and several UNICEF sites which they feel will provide inspiration and power to themselves and others.“I can't imagine not ever thinking about some adventure,” Ewan McGregor said.“Long Way Round changed us all — it bonded us and made our dreams come true — and it's not often something like that happens. Long Way Down is something you can not only daydream about, but actually do.”After his exploits in the Race To Dakar last year, Boorman has been eager to return to Africa and see more of this amazing continent.“A few weeks after Long Way Round we had maps out already for the next big world journey — and Africa seemed like the obvious choice.”“Long Way Round was a boy's own adventure and there aren't many of those left in the world. This is more risky than Long Way Round. When we all turn up in Cape Town healthy and happy, it will be the most amazing moment in my life.”The riders will be supporting UNICEF, CHAS and Riders for Health on their travels and the www.longwaydown.com website will keep fans updated with the latest info on the trip, including the opportunity to view footage and pre-order copies of the book and DVD.The Long Way Down will be on UK TV late this year and should be on Australian TV next year.

Motoring journalist and safety advocate Clive Matthew-Wilson said importers of European cars had “completely lost the plot in the past decade”.“They are more concerned with style over substance,” the New Zealand-based author of The Dog & Lemon Guide said.“Stripping out safety features to keep costs down helps the manufacturers sell more cars as it makes them cheaper, but the end result is that ordinary people die,” he said.“What also worries me is Australians are reading international crash test reports where the safety features were included.”Matthew-Wilson, who successfully lobbied the New Zealand Government to make unsafe old seatbelts unlawful, said he was “probably not on car companies' Christmas card list”.He said stripping out curtain airbags was of particular concern as they were known to save lives in crashes with poles and trees.“An airbag at the factory probably costs about $25. If they can get away with it they do.”He said cars imported into Australia had fewer standard safety features than those imported into New Zealand.“The Barina (imported from Korea) has ABS standard in New Zealand, but in Australia it does not come with ABS, but costs about the same price,” he said. “In New Zealand, importers are competing with second-hand Japanese imports with all the safety features. In Australia they do not have the same competition.“It's a cozy arrangement between the car companies to leave safety devices off to cut costs.”GM Holden national media relations manager John Lindsay said the markets and pricing structure were different between Australian and New Zealand markets.“The Barina in NZ starts at a higher specification which we believe is required to compete in that specific market and this is reflected in a higher entry-level price,” he said.Matthew-Wilson said electronic stability control was a crucial safety device available in most new European cars.However, in Australia, only the top models had ESC fitted.“Airbags and electronic stability control are considered luxury features and are usually only included in a package with mag wheels.”Matthew-Wilson said top-of-the-range imported cars had a substantial array of safety features, but we were being overcharged for them.He said Asian cars often featured more safety features and were near the top of consumer satisfaction surveys on reliability while European cars were near the bottom.The latest British customer satisfaction survey has awarded Lexus, the luxury arm of Toyota, the top rank for the seventh consecutive year.“English cars are the worst of the worst, but most of them are not truly English any more, they are German,” he said.Matthew-Wilson is also concerned about the poor standard of seatbelts in second-hand Australian cars.He wants the Australian Government to legislate for the replacement of unsafe seatbelts.“This is of real concern because some older style seatbelts stretch like rubber bands in an accident. They are as bad as no seatbelt at all,” he said.  Differing safety features   (Australia and New Zealand markets)All Honda Odyssey (imported from Japan) versions have dual front and side airbags but in New Zealand head curtain airbags are also standard and in Australia they are only fitted to the luxury model.Current Honda Civic models (imported from Thailand) have six airbags on all models in New Zealand, but in Australia they have a cheap version (VTi) with two, a moderate version with four (VTi-L) and others with six.Mitsubishi L200 Triton (imported from Thailand) has ABS standard on all models in NZ, but in Australia it is an option on most models and standard on expensive models.Hyundai Tucson (imported from Korea) has dual front, side and head curtain airbags on all models in NZ. In Australia they have dual front airbags standard, but dual side and head curtain airbags available on Elite and City models. Electronic stability control is standard on all NZ models, but it is not available in Australia.Holden Viva (imported from Korea) in New Zealand has ABS standard and in Australian it's standard on the wagon and an optional extra with alloy wheels on others.(Source: The Dog & Lemon Guide)Clive Matthew-Wilson on these statistics "They are not however 100 per cent accurate simply because many car manufacturers and dealers make it very difficult to find out what safety features are on their cars, even if you go to official websites or call the actual dealers, you are quite often put through to someone who simply doesn't know much about the product they are selling. Also it's worth noting that the week after we ask (a manufacturer) about safety features...they may have a new load in with a different configuration."

Saab this week released photos of the new 9-3 range with much of the styling cues from the Aero X concept car.Outside, it is a much shapelier and curvy character with a “face” up front and no ugly black rubber strips on the bumper or doors.The front grille has much more impact, being bigger and curvier with a three-piece air dam and fog lights, rather than one horizontal strip.The headlights now wrap around and slope up at the outside like cats' eyes.The new 9-3 also returns to the Saab tradition of a clamshell hood, a tradition that started with the '67 Saab 99.GM Premium Brands communications manager Emily Perry said Australia would get all three 9-3 models — Sport Sedan, SportCombi and Convertible — all at the same time, in the last quarter of this year.“We will get petrol and diesel initially just as we have now,” she said.“We are interested in 9-3 BioPower for Australia, but we will launch BioPower in Australia in 9-5 this year and see how it goes.“So we don't have a 9-3 BioPower launch date just yet.”The new 9-3 range will come in three trim levels — Linear, Vector and Aero.“I don't have any further news on the interior at this stage,” she said.Although there are no details about the car's interior yet, it would be good if they broke away from the cliched fighter aeroplane cockpit theme.Perry doesn't hold out much hope for that: “It would be fair to assume that it would be very similar, or unchanged, to the current recently launched interior which is fresh into 9-3 this year,” she said.“Saab interiors still remain the `cockpit' styled interior and driving position but it has been simplified, giving it a clean modern look.”We hope so.

A Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit (QISU) study found children with correct restraints, above, were less likely to be injured in crashes. However, in some 75 per cent of cases, inappropriate restraints were used and two out of three child car seats were incorrectly fitted or fastened. The study found many parents were graduating their children from baby capsules to child car seats and boosters too soon. The QISU, attached to the Mater Hospital, has recommended adoption across all states of uniform restraint laws, an education program to teach parents the correct use of restraints and a network to distribute child and booster seats similar to the baby capsule system. It also recommended that Standards Australia test and approve the Isofix/Latch system which is used overseas and appears in European and Japanese cars imported into Australia. RACQ traffic and safety executive manager John Wikman said the QISU findings matched their 2006 study which showed almost half of children aged four to seven were transported dangerously in cars. “RACQ also found that 45 per cent of that vulnerable age group was being driven around in improperly fitted restraints, the incorrect type of child seat and, in the worst cases, no specific child restraints at all,” he said.

Called Choppazilla, the bike will compete against three other Australian bikes in the six-part Discovery Channel Biker Build-Off series later this year. Bike builder Andrew Erwin of Bowen Hills, previously from New York, said he was not allowed to reveal who won, but confirmed he came second. “Out of thousands of bike builders, I was one of four the producers asked to be in the program,” he said. The final filming for the shows will be shot in America in August when Choppazilla drag races the other contenders from Melbourne, Sydney and country NSW at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, South Dakota. “It did a quarter mile in 11.2 seconds the first time out, but I think this is a nine-second bike,” Erwin said. Choppazilla is powered by a two-litre V-twin engine producing about 123kW of power and 223Nm of torque. Erwin said he moved the engine, transmission, oil and fuel forward and gave it a longer swingarm to prevent the enormous power from making the bike wheelstand. “It was a real pain to do but it looks beautiful.” Erwin said he designed and hand-built the bike from scratch. “Everything is hand-fabricated. That's what I call a custom bike, not just bolting on parts,” he said. “People have to look at your bike and go `wow'. This bike is crazy, evil and sexy.”

Marketing and public relations general manager Ross Booth said the next model would not be bigger or heavier. It will stay true to the sports car genreThe new Z car is at least 18 months away, so Nissan has beefed up the power on its current 350Z to stir up flagging sales.Out of the 95 countries that get the Japanese-built Z car, Australia is the fifth-largest market behind the US, Japan, Germany and the UK.More than 4000 have been sold here since its 2003 release, but sales have slipped from 1600 in the first year to only 533 last year.Now the most powerful sports car in the under $80,000 segment, it gets a 9kW power boost for the manual and 24kW for the auto, bringing it to 230kW with a bonnet hump or power bulge to cater for the taller V6 engine.It now looks more like the original 1969 240Z.Nissan claims the Z car now has 44 per cent more power than a Chrysler Crossfire, 30 per cent more than a Mazda RX8, 28 per cent over a Porsche Boxster or Cayman, 25 per cent on an Audi TT and 18 per cent on a BMW Z4 3.0si.And at a starting price of $62,990 for the Coupe Touring manual, the 350Z is also cheaper than all but the RX8 at $54,565.All prices are unchanged with the Touring auto $64,990, Coupe Track manual $67,990, and the Roadster's $73,990 for the Track manual and Touring auto.Some 80 per cent of the engine, which has been 13 years in the world's top 10, has been modified with ram air, reprogrammed variable valve timing, larger exhaust manifold and a higher compression ratio.As well as boosting horsepower, torque has also benefited from the engine mods, up 5Nm to 358Nm.There is no change to either the combined fuel consumption figure or the CO2 emissions.The engine also has been lowered 15mm to improve stability from the lower centre of gravity.A new plant has been built in Japan just to build this engine.Other changes to the 350Z are a 500rpm higher limit to 7500rpm, active head restraints in the cabin, new Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tyres as used on the new Commodore SS and three new colours, including a $500 pearlescent orange that glistens with a background of green in bright sunshine.The new 45-profile tyres feature a new tread pattern which lowers road noise and softens the ride which was also improved last year in a suspension update.The improvement is immediately evident in the Z car; the Roadster being one of the quietest soft tops on the scene.While handling is still sharp, steering precise and body roll almost non-existent, the harshness of the ride has been diluted.Nissan Motor Company Australia passenger car product manager Adrian Givoye said a hard top convertible was a maybe for the future.He said 40 per cent of customers opted for the Track variant which features Brembo brake calipers, vehicle dynamic control, an optional burnt orange seats, front and rear spoilers, and a rear diffuser.While the Touring has traction control, vehicle dynamic control is advisable on a rear-wheel-drive car with this much power.Givoye said demand for automatic in the Track was so small it has been deleted from the range.Inside, an illuminated ignition switch is the only change.The Z car even retains the anachronistic cassette tape player and still does not have MP3 capability in the six-CD Bose sound system.However, Givoye said they had been trying to get MP3 capability for some time.“But for some reason they cannot supply it, even though it is offered in the US,” he said.Nissan is also unable to supply a satellite navigation system, because of our network, yet there is a storage bin above the sound system where an aftermarket system could be installed.“This is a performance vehicle. A raw sportscar.“We haven't tried to soften it and add more luxury features,” he said.Givoye said this was the last facelift for the 350Z which would be replaced in 2009.“But we're working on a number of things to keep the Z alive, such as special editions.”Marketing and public relations general manager Ross Booth said the next model would not be bigger or heavier.It will stay true to the sports car genre.Nissan 350Z Roadster, Coupe$62,990-$73,990POWER: 233kW @ 6800rpmTORQUE: 358Nm @ 4800 rpmREV LIMIT: 7500rpm (up from 7000)ECONOMY: 11.7l/100km (combined manual Coupe) to 12.1 (combined manual Touring Roadster)PRICES: Coupe Touring manual ($62,990)Coupe Touring auto ($64,990)Coupe Track manual ($67,990)Roadster Track manual and Touring auto ($73,990)350Z HISTORY1969 The original 240Z makes its debut1974 Capacity increased from 2.4 litres to 2.6 litres and name changed to 260Z1975 280Z introduced1979 280ZX gets a targa roof1990 300ZX launched1999 Z concept unveiled in Detroit2003 350Z goes on sale in Australia2005 35th anniversary limited edition model2006 minor upgrade to interior,exterior and suspension2009 new Z car planned to arrive

GM Holden chairman Denny Mooney has often talked about including the Corvette among American imports starting with the Hummer H3 next month.GM Holden national media relations manager John Lindsay said he had “no further update” on importing the Corvette or other brands such as Camaro and Cadillac.Meanwhile, Chevrolet has announced more power for the iconic Corvette next year.The 2008 'Vette coupe and convertible will get a bigger small-block 6.2-litre V8 engine, even bigger than Holden's 6-litre V8 in models such as the Commodore and Caprice.Chevrolet says it will have 321kW of power and 575Nm of torque, which compares with Holden's V8 figures of 270kW and 530Nm.An optional dual-mode exhaust system will boost power to 325kW and torque to 580 Nm.But the Z06 edition of the 'Vette will go even bigger with a 7-litre V8 with a claimed 376kW of power and 637Nm of torque.Chevrolet claims a 0-100km/h time of 3.7sec in first gear.It also maintains that the six-speed paddle-shifted automatic Corvette is its fastest automatic yet, capable of hitting 100km/h in 4.3sec.

Some manufacturers were reporting waiting lists of up to six months as grey nomads are “SKIing” all over Australia.For those who don't know, “SKI” stands for Spending the Kids' Inheritance, and retirees are doing it in style with big campervans, motorhomes and camper trailers.The Recreational Vehicle Manufacturers Association of Australia reckons there is a sales boom in recreational vehicles not seen since the 1970s.RVMAA president Tony Bellamy said there were 400,000 registered caravans in Australia and more with motorhomes.Last year the RVMAA calculated 18,200 towable units were built in Australia. This compares with the record of 38,000 in the '70s and a low of 5000 in the mid-'90s.“The best estimates are that close to 3000 camper trailers were manufactured last year and most of the rest were either caravans or pop-top caravans,” Bellamy said.Several hundred tent trailers were also built, but the RVMAA does not have any estimate.The RVMAA estimates about 1500 motorised models — campervans and motorhomes — were built in 2006.And most of these are not cheap vehicles. While you can start in the early $30,000s, prices can also reach $400,000.Most are in the $100,000-$200,000 price category, according to Hymer Australia's marketing manager Richard Towson.Hymer, one of several builders of motorhomes in Australia, claims motorhomes are the fastest-growing segment of Australia's recreation vehicles, particularly in Queensland where sales grew 40 per cent last year.“Many grey nomads are cashed-up and looking for a quality prestige vehicle,” Towson said.Bellamy predicts that, despite petrol prices, 2007 will be an even stronger year with manufacturers' order books quickly filling up.“There are more and more retirees out there,” he said.“Baby boomers are coming into retirement and whereas they used to want to travel around the world, now they are wanting to do Australia first because of events overseas.”There was such a demand for caravans, campers and motorhomes that some manufacturers were reporting waiting lists of up to six months.Bellamy also predicts record crowds for the Brisbane Caravan and Camping Show at the RNA from June 6-12.Redlands couple on the roadLong-term caravanners Malcolm and Pauline Grose, of Redlands, are real stop-outs.And they are typical of the current crop of grey nomads.They have been caravanning for 42 years, but stepped it up a bit after Malcolm, 65, retired as a building inspector seven years ago and after Pauline, 64, retired last year from Myer.They went straight out and updated to a Jayco Sterling 18-foot caravan for $53,000 and have hardly been home since.“We haven't been on the big lap around Australia yet, but that will be next year,” Pauline says confidently.“We go away every month for at least a week with the Southern Cross Caravan Club or on our own.”Even as you read this, the Groses will be somewhere out in western Queensland stirring up the bulldust and meeting new friends.“You see so many people and everyone talks to you and you make so many friends out on the road,” Pauline said.Malcolm couldn't begin to calculate how many kilometres they have covered in their 42 years of caravanning.“I don't even know what we've done in the past year, but we're about to cover another 3000km in the next few weeks,” he said.And what of spending the kids' inheritance?“We've worked hard all our lives, so why shouldn't we enjoy it?” Pauline says.“You can work all your life and save your money, but you can't take it with you so you may as well enjoy it,” Malcolm adds.