Articles by Mark Hinchliffe

Mini will show a plug-in electric scooter concept at the Paris Motor Show next month.  But it will have some competition from Smart with its own plug-in electric scooter at the show. The Mini features a lot of styling cues from its plug-in electric car concept, right down to the large dishplate speedo.  It features an electric motor in the rear wheel with power from a lithium-ion battery under the seat that can be charged from a standard A/C power outlet via a retractable cable. Mini is making no comments yet on whether it will go into production, but a scooter would be a better fit for the brand than for BMW, even though the German made a C1 scooter with a roof in 2001-02. BMW Motorrad last year developed an electric version of the C1 for a European study into traffic congestion, but the company's motorcycle division is concentrating more on performance bikes.  It would seem logical that Mini produce scooters, rather than diluting the BMW motorcycle brand. The Smart scooter concept uses a lithium-ion battery with 100km of range and will even include an airbag like Honda's massive Goldwing touring bike.  Smart has made no comment yet about going into production with the scooter.

A British survey has found 80 per cent of motorists admit to trying to beat the estimated time of arrival on a satellite navigation route. It's called "route racing", according to British vehicle auction company Manheim Auctions, but it seems it is also a favourite game among Australian motorists. Mathew McAuley, spokesman for sister company Manheim Fowles, admits to trying to beat his satnav. "I thought it was quite an amusing piece of research and I often think I know better than the machine and try to outdo it with a shortcut," he said. "I think it's more of a male thing. Women are far more sensible than trying to outsmart a machine; they turn it on to offer them assistance." The research shows that drivers often try to out-think their satnav device by taking a shortcut. However, road safety expert and founder of Fatality Free Friday Russell White said the temptation could be for motorists to drive too fast to beat the satnav time of arrival. "Some people could see it as their own personal Top Gear challenge to get there before the satnav says so," he says. "Clearly if 80 per cent of people do it, many of them will be speeding. My other concern is that they will spend more time focusing on the figures on their satnav rather than watching what they are doing, so there is a potential for distraction as well." The survey follows other research by Manheim Auctions which revealed only one in eight British motorists trust their satnav to take them directly to their destination, a third have got completely lost while relying on satnav and 15 per cent have missed an important event such as a job interview, wedding or first date. Doug Lloyd, boss of satnav importer Next Destination says many users think they can do better than their satnav. "This confirms that man is more aware of local conditions than a computer," he says. "When they complain we always tell them that they will always know of a better route which is not part of the parameters that the satnav uses. The satnav is not for drivers that drive the same route all the time and know where they are going but for people going to different places who do not know the area or a route. This means that 90 per cent of journeys probably never need a satnav but they are invaluable for the 10 per cent when we have no idea where we are going and for those who cannot read a street or road map."

... but there many older cars and many modern vehicles which are incompatible. The RACQ has warned that modern motorcycles, scooters, boat engines and garden equipment such as mowers and trimmmers will not run on ethanol. RACQ technical sevrices manager Steve Spalding says motorists should check the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) website for their specific model. "Vehicle age is only a guide as some makes of car built in the last decade are not compatible," he says. "The vehicle manufacturer is the only reliable source of information about a car's compatibility. Our advice is not to use E10 if it is not listed as compatible." His warning comes as state governments move toward mandating the use of ethanol in fuel and car companies, such as Holden and Bentley, move toward 85 per cent ethanol content compatibility. However, the major Japanese motorcycle manufacturers list their products as non-compatible with any ethanol content, affecting as much as 70 per cent of motorcycles and scooters. "Incompatibility is primarily linked to the materials used in the fuel system, such as hoses or tank, and associated degradation of these components, but can be linked to performance reasons with some vehicles," Spalding says. "Repairs can be expensive if the fuel injectors become contaminated with small debris from the deteriorated part. Plastic motorcycle tanks are a good example. If a vehicle isn't listed as compatible then E10 should not be used. If regular ULP is not available then the motorist should either find another service station or purchase enough PULP to let them continue on their journey." Spalding also warns that vehicles running on E10 will have "a slight theoretical reduction in economy" due to the lower energy content of ethanol-blended fuels. "Under normal driving conditions this may not be noticeable as other variables are far greater, such as traffic conditions, routes driven etc," he says. "We tested two late model Holden VE Commodores in 2007 over a week on rural roads west of Toowoomba and found E10 increased fuel consumption by about 3 per cent. This is in line with its theoretical lower energy content. "Any claims that ethanol blended fuel delivers more power should be disregarded. Ethanol has a lower energy content than ULP so any blending will reduce the energy content accordingly." Jeromy Moore, race engineer for V8 Supercar drievr Craig Lowndes says ethanol is a better fuel for making maximum power and economy when tuned with a leaner fuel mixture and higher engine compression ratio. "Hence why lots of drag cars are converting to it," he says. "A couple of things that can help ethanol's fuel economy are its octane rating of 129RON versus standard unleaded's 91, meaning you can increase the engine's efficiency by running more compression. You can also run the mixture leaner due to the octane and the cooling effect of the alcohol on the pistons." However, he says they are not allowed to tamper with their race engine's compression ratio, so fuel range is reduced. Visit the FCAI website to find out if your car is compatible with ethanol blend petrol.

A three-for-one deal is a key part of the new Peugeot RCZ package. The French company's new hero sports car comes with a choice of three engines, but all with the same $54,990 pricetag.

But not just any Bellett GT would do. Moller wanted the actual car."I went to Main Roads about 28 years ago and gave them the rego number and they told me the address of the current owner. It had changed hands about four or five times," the RACQ Kilcoy depot owner says. "You couldn't do that these days as they don't give out that info. Anyway, I went and bought it back. I can't remember what I paid, but it had a surfboard on the roof. I took it home and stripped it back to the bare body shell and did a full resto on it."Moller can't calculate how much he has spent on restoring his "old man's car" over the years. "I don't want to know. It's all right when you're forking out $400 or $500 at a time, but I don't want to total it up," he says. A Bellett GT recently sold for $13,500 and Moller has his 1967 GT insured for $18,000. But he won't sell. "It's been a part of my life almost all my life," he says.Isuzu Bellett was a small car made in Japan from 1963 to 1973. It was the successor to the Hillman Minx and later became the Isuzu Bellett Gemini, then the Isuzu Gemini and finally the Holden Gemini. However, the front-wheel-drive Holden Gemini has little to do mechanically with the original rear-wheel-drive Isuzu Bellett."Only 1 per cent of the parts are interchangheable with the Gemini," Moller says. His two-door GT is the first Japanese car to carry the "Gran Turismo" badge. He replaced the original 1600cc engine with an 1800cc twin-cam from an Isuzu 177, the same engine as in the Gemini ZZZ and Holden Piazza. Apart from high-tension cables, new wheels, an electric fuel pump and SAAS seats, the rest of the car is original.Finding parts for the rare car required long nights of Googling. Most parts came from Japan, plus a windscreen from Thailand, the mirrors from Holland and a water pump from the US. Moller hasn't had it dynoed, but he says it's good for about 75kW and wife Liz says "it hammers". She has performed a lot of the restoration work alongside her husband.He says "a lot of weekends we can't go anywhere because we're on call, so I'd tinker in the shed." She says "I thought 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'. Plus it's the only way I get to spend time with him."So they bought an old Escort for her to restore, but no one at the depot liked Fords, so they wouldn't work on it. Liz liked the lines of the Isuzu Wasp utility, so she ditched the Escort and began searching for the ute which is even rarer than the GT. There are only 18 on the road in Australia and 22 accounted for. A year later they found a 1965 model Wasp and bought it for $1800."We stripped it, painted it and put it back together in four weeks and not much sleep," he says.There is now a total of 10 Isuzu Belletts on their Kilcoy property in various stages of restoration including one ex-PNG rally car belonging to his father, Geoff.The couple plan to take three of their treasures to the Bellett Nationals at Coonabarabran in central NSW on October 23-24.

The Brisbane team rolled out their two cars with the new Series II bodywork at official two-day testing which began on Monday at Queensland Raceway.  However, few would have noticed the exterior differences that consists of a new boot lid, a bigger grille and slightly different-shaped headlights. Jamie Whincups car is the same one he has raced in the last two rounds, but with Series II modifications, while Craig Lowndes' new race car was having its first run.  Triple 8 chief engineer Ludo Lacroix said the team was "super happy" with the cars which have been set up for the coming two endurance rounds at Phillip Island and Bathurst. "Weve done around 400 klicks and not had a single problem because we do a lot of pre-tests at home," he said.  "You just get used to making them. We built eight last year and six this year." The two days of testing also gave the endurance round co-drivers a chance to do some laps.  Five-time Bathurst winner Mark Skaife, who will partner Lowndes in the next two rounds, said it was an opportunity to improve his "match fitness". "Ive never been fitter since retiring, but I needed to brush up on my match fitness," he said.  His lap times were equivalent to Lowndes and slightly better than the other side of the garage where Whincup and co-driver Steve Owen concentrated on fine-tuning their driver-change routine. "Its not quite there, but well get it right," Whincup said.  At the other end of the pits, a relaxed and tanned championship leader, James Courtney, was setting scorching times. "This is only our second test day of the year so we have a lot of set-up changes to get through that we dont normally get a chance to do at a race meeting, so were fairly busy," he said. "Im not personally feeling any extra pressure. Its harder when you are chasing. I feel like the pressure has been lifted now that Im leading."  The V8 Supercars return to racing at Philip Island on September 10-12 after a nine-week mid-season break.

THE wheels are the first hint that something is different about this Volvo.  The two-door  Volvo C30 DRIVe hatch features futuristic plate-style wheel covers that are supposed to reduce air turbulence and improve fuel efficiency.And that is what this car is all about. Economy.  It sips fuel at a claimed 3.8 litres of diesel for every 100km, giving it a conceivable cruising range of up to 1300km on a single 52-litre tank while emitting 99g of CO2.The only car more economical on our roads is the diesel Fiesta ECOnetic. It beats any hybrid on the market and even the three-cylinder Suzuki Alto.PRICINGSo, as far as value is concerned, it's at least cheap at the fuel pump.  However, it's a Volvo so it also comes with a host of safety features, plenty of creature comforts and excellent build quality but a price tag to match.It's about $12,000 more expensive than the Fiesta but at $36,990 it's still one of the cheapest and best-value Volvos ever produced.TECHNOLOGYHelping it achieve its anorexic fuel diet is the increasingly popular stop-start technology that automatically switches off the engine when the vehicle is stationary, even for just a coupe of seconds.However, in diesel cars such as the Mini, this technology feels jerky as diesel engines shudder as they stop and start.  Volvo claims stop-start reduces fuel consumption by up to 8 per cent.If you find it annoying, you can always turn it off with the button on the centre console. But you will have to do that every time you start the car as it defaults to being switched on.The stop-start system's economy drive is aided by a regenerative system that charges the battery as soon as the driver brakes or lifts off the accelerator, relieving the engine of that function and therefore reducing fuel consumption.Technology in the DRIVe isn't limited to economic gains.  There are also a lot of creature features such as Bluetooth and MP3 connectivity and surprisingly for a car made in the cold climes of Sweden, the climate-control airconditiong goes down to a chilly 14 degrees. Just what you need to beat Aussie summers.DESIGNEven though it's now a few years old, the C30 is still a fresh-looking design that is destined to be timeless.  Making it a little more futuristic are the wheels which are aided in their wind-cheating ways by a deflecting panel behind the grille to improve airflow around the engine and an aerodynamically smooth underbody.Interior design is similarly practical and stylish without looking like a 1970s Swedish soft-porn film.  Take for example the innovative and stylish floating centre stack which is designed to look like a cross between a Nokia phone and Bang & Olufsen remote control.Consequently, even though there are a lot of buttons, it is intuitive and easy to use. However, it is not without its design faults.Because of the proximity of the centre stack to the gear shift, I inadvertently and prematurely ended several phone calls when my thumb struck the "exit" button as I engaged third or fifth gear.SAFETYAs expected in a Volvo, safety is a major focus with six airbags, adaptive emergency brake lights, whiplash protection seats, electronic stability control and traction control, and anti-skid brakes.Not only does the rear end have a unique look, but it is also provides good rear vision, while forward and side vision is similarly very good.DRIVINGI tried as hard as possible to reach the claimed economy figures of 3.8L/100km and failed, but only just.  I slipped it into neutral down hills, avoided hard braking and acceleration, changed up early as directed by the arrow on the LCD screen in front of the driver, turned off the airconditioning and kept the windows up.With just me in the car and in a mix of highway and city driving, the best I could do was 4.1L/100km.  When I gave up and drove the car as normal, it climbed to 4.9L/1200km, which is still quite respectable.But economy is no good if the car drives like a wet dish rag. Fortunately it doesn't.  The engine has good grunt for daily driving shores and highway overtaking.It pulls well from under 2000 revs, but runs out of breath quickly, requiring good use of the gearbox.  The clutch is light and the transmission is smooth and reliable for quick gear changes and throttling the most out of the engine when needed.It handles nimbly around the city, isn't thrown by choppy surfaces on B roads and is stable and very quiet on the highway.  Cabin comfort and room is good despite being a small two-door coupe.It is relatively easy to get in and out of the back with a wide opening door and front seats that quickly slide all the way forward. Even adults will feel comfortable in the two rear seats.While there isn't much space in the cargo area with two rear passengers on board, the rear seats fold flat and provide quite a large and usable cargo area for a small car.There are also plenty of handy cubby holes and storage areas around the cabin.VERDICTEconomic and environmentally conscious motoring doesn't have to be boring, ugly, cheap, nasty or unsafe.  This Volvo proves it.Volvo C30 DRIVePrice: $36,150Engine: Diesel, 1.6-litre, 4-cylinder turbocharged, dohc; with stop-startPower: 80kW @ 4000rpm.Torque: 250Nm @ 1750rpm.Transmission: Five-speed manual; front-wheel-drive.Fuel consumption: 3.8 litres/100km.CO2 emissions: 99g/km.Dimensions: 4266mm long, 1782mm wide.

French robotics expert Professor Claude Laurgeau believes a lane of robotic trucks could happen first in China which is in the early stages of developing a national motorways system. He says automated driving is the future.  "I cannot say when it will happen, but it will happen progressively," he says.  "One of the first steps is a lane dedicated for (fully automated) trucks; a train of trucks.  Another step could be fully automated cyber cars in special city areas such as airports, shopping centres or hospitals." He says most of the required robotic technology is already available in luxury cars, with lasers, GPS, wi-fi and radar providing driver aids such as adaptive cruise control, blind spot warning, lane departure warning, crash avoidance systems and night pedestrian recognition.He says the next step is to integrate these technologies with road infrastructure and other vehicles. Prof Laurgeau has been in Australia for three weeks working with the Queensland University of Technology's CARRS-Q team on vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems.  The director and founder of the Robotics Centre at Mines ParisTech is confident he will soon be given a green light to demonstrate his technology with a driverless car negotiating the chaotic Arc de Triomphe roundabout in peak-hour traffic at 6pm.  "It will be difficult because there is no law on that roundabout," he says.  Prof Laurgeau believes automated driving will improve safety.  "Ninety-three per cent of all road crashes are the cause of the driver, so we have to eliminate the driver," he says. Automated driving would also boost productivity and ease traffic congestion by allowing vehicles to travel closer together and at higher speeds.  "Traffic congestion represents 1 per cent less of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in Europe." He says the accepted solutions to congestion were to build more roads or restrict vehicular access, such as London's Congestion Tax.  "I offer a solution that will increase the efficiency of existing roads." He says our lanes are about 3.5m wide to accommodate driver error, however automated driving would allow narrower lanes, permitting more traffic lanes with vehicles moving at a faster rate. "Instead of 2000 vehicles per hour using a lane, you could have 15,000," he says.  "I'm sure this will happen one day." However, RACQ vehicle technologies executive manager Steve Spalding says that before drivers hand over control to robots there would need to be a shift in thinking and driver acceptance. He also says intelligent transport systems would require vehicle manufacturers and infrastructure providers to adopt a common system that would allow "optimum communication with all affected road users".  It would also allow time for the technology to be adopted "particularly as a typical vehicle has a life approaching 20 years and they will probably need to co-exist for a period."

You could be forgiven for thinking it's a luxury yacht, however these are features of a limited edition Rolls-Royce.  The Phantom Drophead Coupe has received the bespoke additions to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the legendary Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in Carmel, California. The car was unveiled at the event by Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos and chief designer Ian Cameron, and was sold within minutes.  The exterior paintwork is a tribute to Stillwater Cove on the Monterey Peninsula. It also features a navy blue soft top lined with cashmere and interior wood fittings cross-banded Santos Pallisander veneer contrasted with a silver pinstripe inlay. Handcrafted oiled teak decking is used for the roof tonneau and also in the luggage compartment flooring with a refrigerated cabinet underneath. Further Bespoke cues include an enamelled plaque on the dash, Concours logos on the tread plates and embroidery on each seat.  Price? If you have to ask, you can't afford it. Besides, Rolls is simply not discussing it.

We've heard recently of Toyotas with sticking accelerators, but what about the "haunted'' Audi 100 that could accelerate when you went to hit the brakes because the accelerator pedal was too close? Some lemons are so acidic they are downright dangerous, such as the rear-engined 1960s Chevrolet Corvair that required the tyres to be pumped up so high they exploded. Ford had issues in the late 1980s with the Ford Bronco and Explorer SUVs that did more rolling than the Stones and the Ford Pinto that not only burst into flames on rear impact, but also jammed the doors shut so the occupants were well done. The capitalist world wasn't alone with its duds. The Trabant gave communism a bad name with its two-stroke smoker. If left alone in a field, livestock would eat its cotton-made body. Here in Australia we made some of our own lemons and others we imported such as 1970s Lancias and Fiats that arrived pre-rusted. There have been other cars that exploded, spontaneously combusted, fell apart, leaked oil, overheated or just never worked. A mechanic friend of mine reeled off some of the biggest mechanical lemons that have made him a wealthy man, such as old Daewoos, the Holden Sunbird, Datsun 180B and the king of them all, early model Kia Carnivals. Thankfully, standards have improved and there are very few lemons in the market today. Over the past few years, car recalls in Australia have dropped from 79 in 2005 to 63 last year, with a peak of 91 in 2008. In terms of aesthetics there are still some eyesores (all SsangYongs) and some inane packages (BMW X6). Here are 10 lemons I have driven: Datsun 120Y: Why indeed? It was underpowered, thank god, because the brakes were useless and the handling downright dangerous. At least when you crashed it was at slow speed. Unfortunately, it was very reliable, so there are still a few around.Leyland P76: It held a 44-gallon drum in the boot and the design reflected such practicality. The Aussie-made gas-guzzler arrived just as the oil crisis hit.Morris Marina: It should have come with a cardigan and a death warrant. Mechanically nasty, unsafe and unreliable.Ford AU Falcon: Ford spent $600 million to build it and immediately it failed as plain ugly. It also blew head gaskets, radiators and thermostats, yet there are still a lot of AU taxis limping around.1960-1990 Jaguars: Some nice models, but you needed two as one was always in the garage. You also needed to be a bank manager as they were expensive to fix. XJ12s were perhaps the worst.Holden Camira: Once a Wheels Car of the Year, but prone to rusting and overheating. Chewed oil and should have been booked for underage smoking.SAAB 900 Turbo:  One of the early turbocharged cars. Unhappily the turbo unit didn't outlive the tyres. Major engine problems and expensive to fix. Despite being Swedish, they rattled and squeaked.Rover Vitesse: Designed around a large-dimension, mid-capacity V8 engine, but they also fitted six-cylinder engines in the UK which were complete duds. They even considered a four-cylinder plant! The electrics were UK Lucas, known for good reason as the Prince of Darkness.Mitsubishi Magna: Early models fell apart before they needed their first refuelling. Early carby engines were known to have four-cylinder performance and six-cylinder economy.Hummer: America's insensitive answer to the first Gulf War. An itinerant in San Francisco actually spat on one I was driving. Although mechanically sound, a GM PR disaster.