Articles by Mark Hinchliffe

Model and environmental campaigner Summer Rayne of New York drove the world's fastest electric car, the Californian Tesla Roadster, around Queensland Raceway where the V8 Supercars usually roar.While there was no roar from the quiet electric car, there was still plenty of V8-style acceleration with the tiny vehicle whipping up to 100km/h in 4.1 seconds, which is only 0.2 seconds slower than a Porsche 911 Turbo.Rayne and the Tesla are in Brisbane for the second annual Greenfest this weekend at the Botanical Gardens. The electric car is part of a showcase of hi-tech automotive and environmental products while Rayne, 25, will speak on sustainable development in design."I came out to speak at Greenfest, but getting to drive the Tesla is a bit of a perk," said Rayne who holds degrees in entomology and environmental science."This car is pretty sweet."The next thing is to get the electricity from a clean and renewable energy source, but at least this car is a start toward greener motoring."The Tesla costs about $160,000 and is only available in left-hand drive so it is not registerable on Australia's roads, however a right-hand version will be built in England from February.It has a top speed limited to 200km/h, can be recharged in 3.5 hours and has a range of 390km, depending on how it is driven. If it is driven as hard as it was yesterday by Summer on the race track, the range will be a lot less."I can see this will appeal to the boys more than the girls," Rayne said.

The third-generation RX (and second-generation hybrid SUV) will be launched in Australia in June.The RX 450h features a 10 per cent increase in engine power, a 28 per cent reduction in combined cycle fuel consumption, a 30 per cent improvement in cold weather fuel efficiency and a 23 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions.RX 450h's new 2GR-FXE petrol engine employs the Atkinson, or high-expansion, cycle for improved efficiency. It has a higher compression ratio than a conventional Otto Cycle engine and keeps the exhaust valves closed until the end of the expansion stroke for maximum combustion effect.The expansion stroke is extended, converting more of the combustion energy into torque on the crankshaft.Lexus has combined the Atkinson Cycle with direct ignition, Quad-Cam Multi-valves and dual Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i) to optimise efficiency.Fuel economy and emissions are further improved by cooled exhaust gas recirculation, exhaust heat recovery, reduced hybrid transmission friction losses and a new power control unit.The V6 is combined with two electric motors to produce a total power output of 220kW and push the vehicle to 100km/h in 7.8 seconds.Fuel consumption is 6.3 litres per 100km, while CO2 emissions are down from 192g/km to 148g/km, which is less than a Toyota Corolla (175g/km).Lexus Australia chief executive John Roca said demand for Lexus hybrids had risen steadily since the introduction of the RX 400h SUV in 2006."The proportion of total Lexus sales captured by hybrid is now 12 per cent," he said."Lexus expects hybrid sales, as a proportion of total sales, to continue to grow steadily as we launch new product, the first of which is the new RX 450h in July."Total RX sales are down 14 per cent to 880 so far this year, which is better than most in the luxury SUV category which is down 24.3 per cent.The new RX 450h is bigger all round at 15mm longer, 40mm wider, 10mm higher and 25mm longer in the wheelbase while retaining its 5.7m turning circle.It rides on new double wishbone rear suspension replacing the struts used in the RX 400h.Allied to the increase in wheelbase length and track width, this is claimed to reduce body roll and pitch by up to 40 per cent.The front suspension has also been extensively re-engineered, with new shock absorbers, optimised springs, anti-roll bar and component geometry. Electronically Controlled Air Suspension gives the driver a choice of four vehicle height settings over a 60mm range and automatically lowers when travelling at speed to optimise aerodynamic performance, stability and fuel economy.Inside, there is a new remote touch control navigation system which operates like a computer mouse. It operates the vehicle's audio, navigation, ventilation, phone and set-up systems. The new RX also features head-up display which screens key driving data in the driver's line of sight at the base of the windscreen.The information presented includes vehicle speed, turn-by-turn navigation instructions, audio information and Adaptive Cruise Control and Pre-Crash Safety system status. The navigation system has a 40Gb HDD capacity.

The Queensland team's driver, Colin Hunter, said their Extreme 4WD Class V8 Jeep Grand Cherokee is suited to wet conditions and would beat a lot of the two-wheel-drive buggies if the track is wet."Our best ever result was ninth outright in 2001 which was a very wet year, but it's a big field this year and the competition is very strong, so matching last year's results will be an excellent achievement," he said."Still, the car we're running is tried and tested, so we are quite confident."Team Manager Stewart Knowles said it was cloudy yesterday, but not yet raining."But when it rains out here it really rains and the track can be three feet under water."The team will also have a tyre advantage being the first in Australia to use a new Goodyear brand with puncture-resistant sidewalls. Hunter Racing has been competing since 1998 and last year finished 20th outright in the Northern Territory and first in class.The team started its sixth title defence with 17th outright and first in class in the Hyden 450 race in Western Australia in April. The 460km Finke Desert Race is the second round of the AORC. The race starts and ends in Alice Springs with an overnight stop between the two legs at the tiny Aboriginal settlement of Aputula.Almost 600 vehicles will compete in the Southern Hemisphere's richest off-road race in cars, trucks, 4WDs and buggies, with almost 500 of them on bikes and quads. Among the outright contenders are Queenslander Bruce Garland and Harry Suzuki who finished 11th in this year's Dakar Rally in South America in their Isuzu D-Max.They will be out to spoil the back-to-back hopes of 2008 King of the Desert David Fellows, of South Australia, driving a Jimco buggy."The track conditions are pretty consistent with previous years and I expect the times to Finke will be under the 1 hour 55min mark," Fellows said.In the bike category, Bathurst rider Ben Grabham has switched from Honda to KTM and will be looking for his third consecutive win.Queenslander Rod Faggotter, who finished second to Grabham in last year's Australasian Safari, is using the Finke as a preparation race for the Safari."The longer distances suit me better. The Finke is more of a two-hour sprint," said Faggotter who finished 12th outright last year."There are a lot of fast local guys here who run the track all the time, so I am up against a lot of quick guys on their home territory."At least with the rain we've had here in the past week there will be no dust so you can see where you are going."The prologue to decide starting order is held on Saturday with the two race legs on Sunday and Monday.

The McMillans, with their twin five-year-old sons Connor and Alexander, spent a year travelling through Tasmania and the Great Dividing Range of NSW, upgrading information for Brisbane-based mapping company Hema. The first products of their extensive survey are the new south-east, central-east and north-east maps of NSW. New Tasmanian maps are next on the drawing board. The original plan was for the McMillans to update the Great Dividing Range from south to north. "Our brief changed a bit as there was too much to cover," Alistair says. "Hema has now updated and re-surveyed about 80 per cent of Australia and our next big survey will be the range region from Coffs Harbour to the top. "But consolidating the data we have collected on this trip will keep us busy for at least the next 12 months. No other private mapping company is doing the sort of work we are doing to upgrade maps." The biggest and most expensive mapping expedition Hema has done was in 1998 when seven teams were sent out to plot Australia's desert tracks over an 18-month period. The result was the Great Desert Tracks Atlas and Guide, which won International Map Trade Association awards in 2007 for best book-based product and best product. Alistair says most of the updates they found this time were roads that are now sealed, although they also found roads that didn't go anywhere and dead ends which now continue. "In one place in Tasmania we came to a locked gate and we were only centimetres from the highway. We had to back-track about an hour to get through," Michelle says. They also had a few 4WD ‘moments’ such as getting stuck in the wet clay on the Kilpotra Track near Kempsey with a broken winch. In the end, MaxTrax — a plastic piece of ‘portable road’ invented by Brisbane 4WD expert Brad McCarthy — helped them through. Michelle says she grew to enjoy off-roading and her highlight was the Deva National Park in south-east NSW. "It was a bit steep and hairy, but it's beautiful country," she said. "This trip was my first real 4WD experience, but I really enjoyed it." For the kids, the highlights were when their tent fell down and when they saw a snake while they were waiting for their parents to haul their 4WD out of yet another bog. "People thought we would kill each other but we all came back alive," Michelle says. "We were with each other all day every day with nowhere to escape but we came through. "A lot of people were horrified that we would have two five-year-olds in the car but they have always travelled well. They played card games, had a DVD player in the back and they did a lot of bushwalking. About the worst thing was that Connor got car sick on the windy roads in Tasmania." Satellite navigation equipment used to plot roads and trails included the new Hema Navigator and a CSI differential GPS.

So says mother and car fanatic Lauretta Salis, 35, of Scarborough, who has fought back by starting her own car club. "I have been in other car clubs and they weren't very family or female oriented," she says."I've always been into cars and car clubs and they are all the same; they don't welcome females. It's a very male-dominated world. "A lot of car clubs run computer forums and when females ask questions they tend to get shot down."So she formed East Coast Commodores in October and already has more than 200 members from around South East Queensland "plus a couple from Perth, a couple from northern NSW and one in Victoria". "We have about 30-40 per cent females and they're aged from about 25-40," she says."Other clubs have younger members who don't have families and events don't cater for kids. "Our club does cruises, events that kids can go on, picnics and car shows."Lauretta has always been into cars. "When I was a child I had loads of toy cars and used to play under the back stairs and make tracks in the dirt," she says. "My daughter Brooke is nine and she takes after me. She's got more toy cars than dolls."Her son is also a reflection of her love for Holdens. He's named Storm "like the ute" and his initials are SS "like the SS Commodore" "He's our club mascot."It's not always been Holdens for Lauretta whose first car was a 1976 Corolla station wagon she bought for $700. "It was pretty dodgy," she says. "It needed an engine rebuild and new paintjob which my dad, Russell, and I did. "He taught me everything about cars. I can work on all the old-school engines but not fuel injection. "When I met my husband he had a VL Commodore and I changed the spark plugs for him."She sold the Corolla after three years and began her love of Holdens with a HR Holden and a 1979 Gemini panel van. Since then she has owned two more Geminis.But she also has a soft spot for VW Beetles having owned three and being a VW Club member. "I bought a 1969 Beetle in 2002 for $5500 and sold it in 2006 for $3500 because I needed a family car," she says. "But I told the guy who bought it to ring me if he ever wanted to sell it and he did and I bought it back a year later for the same price."She still has it but her main love remains Holdens and she avidly supports the HRT V8 Supercar team. However, she does admit to owning one Ford. "It was an XM which was a classic so that's ok."Her latest love and the inspiration to found her club is a VY Commodore she bought in 2007 for $18,000. She has since spent about $5000 on mags, body kit and a paintjob. "I haven't done the interior yet but it will come. I'll end up spending another $10,000 on it," she says. "They are my favourite Commodore because of the lines and they do up very well."Naturally, her dream car is another General Motors product; a 1957 Chevy costing anywhere from $30,000 to $130,000. "They are just beautiful American muscle cars," she says."I've tried to buy one from the States to bring over and restore but money is always the problem. Family situations pop up and you just have to let it go." 

...without crash barriers, fire extinguishers or even a helmet. When the Cootha Classic motorsport event is revived in Brisbane this weekend, (MAY 30-31) Croston's class-winning honours will be defended by his grandson Richard and great grandson Damien. But this time there will be crash barriers, fire marshals and the latest safety equipment. "I've still got his driving goggles, but I'm sure they wouldn't be safe enough now," said Richard Croston of Petrie. "They were crazy eh? But that's the way it was back then. They just raced in long-sleeve shirts and trousers. "Grandad thrilled us with his wild racing stories when we were kids, so I was really excited when I heard we would be lucky enough to continue the family legacy." The Cootha Classic will consist of race cars from the 1920s to today in timed sprints around a 1450m track up and down Sir Samuel Griffith Drive with seven corners and chicanes. Organiser Bill Westerman said he hoped the Cootha Classic would become an annual event like Britain's famed Goodwood Festival. Victor Croston was forced into racing retirement when his daughter was born and became events director for the Automobile Club of Queensland before it became the RACQ. No one in the Croston family knows what became of his American-built 1917 Hupmobile, so Richard and Damien will race slightly more modern cars this weekend. Richard is preparing his Australian-built 1959 Nota sports car that weighs just 500kg and was driven by Spencer Martin in 1966 and 1967 to consecutive Gold Star Championships. Damien will compete in the Sports Sedan Championship in a modified Holden Gemini coupe with a two-litre Nissan engine. "It's hard to believe that a Gemini can be considered a classic car and there's not many original parts left, maybe just the roof and door sills," Damien said. "I'm very proud of what my great grandfather was able to achieve. In fact, the prize for winning the class back then was a set of arm chairs, which dad still has at his place." The Crostons will be among a Who's Who of motorsport at the Cootha Classic including multiple Bathurst winner Jim Richards in his Porsche Turbo and South African world motorcycle champion Kork Ballington on a bike raced by Queensland racing legend Gregg Hansford. Roads will be closed for the event with spectators able to access the site on shuttle buses. Admission to the alcohol-free event is $20 a day for adults, or $30 for a two-day pass, and $15 a day for children under 14 accompanied by an adult, seniors card holders, students and Shannons car show card holders. Racing begins on Saturday at 8.30am with untimed sighting runs, followed by speedway car demonstrations, motorcycle parades and timed competition, ending at 5pm. Sunday's program starts at 8.30am and ends with the trophy presentations at 4.30pm.  

It’s starting to look that way with the spread of blink-fast double-clutch automatic systems. And people are apparently happy to pay more for them. For example, the six-speed S-tronic dual-wet-clutch transmission arrives in the Audi S3 Sportback 2.0 TFSI for an extra $2700, bringing the list price to $71,010. Audi, which debuted the transmission in the TT 3.2 quattro in 2003, claims the S-tronic reduces the 0-100km/h acceleration time by 0.2 seconds to 5.6 while economy is improved to 8.4 litres/100km with CO2 emissions of 195g/km. The S-tronic is a perfect partner for the turbocharged engine, swapping cogs so quickly the blower doesn't get a chance to drop revs, thus keeping the power on. Audi Australia product planning manager John Roberts believes the S-tronic model will not only become the top-selling S3, but will also lift volumes. Currently the S3 Sportback ($68,310) is the top seller with 62 per cent of S3 sales. However, Roberts claims the S-tronic will reach 65 per cent, dropping the Sportback to 20 per cent and the three-door manual ($66,403) to 15 per cent. He says the S-tronic will target younger buyers and sell about 200 a year.

Audi Australia marketing general manager Immo Buschmann points out that the new model has more torque than the previous one and, more importantly, better fuel economy.The S4 arrives in quattro all-wheel drive with a supercharged V6 engine and lightning-fast seven-speed S-tronic transmission with dual clutch at $118,900.The V6 may be seriously down on power — dropping from 253kW in the previous model to 245kW — compared with 309kW (BMW) and 336kW (Benz), but it doesn't have their no-compromise ride.The S4 features much the same engine as the supercharged 3.0-litre TFSI (the ‘T’ now also means supercharged) in the A6, but with reduced power and better fuel economy of 9.4L100km (claimed).The S4 features a compact roots blower Eaton supercharger with two coolers, one in each cylinder bank and maximum boost of 0.8 bar.It's a strong powerplant with a usable 440Nm of low-end torque, virtually no lag and none of the annoying supercharger whine.But the greatest driving attribute of the new S4 is the optional sport differential which splits the torque between the rear wheels for improved cornering, like the BMW X6 and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.While the quattro drive has a 60:40 rear-to-front torque split with a maximum of 85:65, the sports differential distributes force between the rear wheels, giving more torque to the outside wheel when cornering.Styling cues that set this apart from the garden variety A4 are a single-frame grille with chrome, S Line bumper, LED indicators in the mirrors, S-design 18-inch alloys, black brake calipers with the S4 logo, LED taillights, boot spoiler and four oval tailpipes.Inside there is a DVD-based navigation system, Audi MMI operating logic, electric seats and mirrors, parking sensors front and rear, keyless entry and start and leather sports steering wheel and seats.The sports diff is everything it is claimed to be and will have some people seriously questioning rear-wheel drive. Gone is the vague understeering corner entry.Turn-in is pin sharp and, although there is a little lightness powering out of a corner, it still stays tight and doesn't wander out wide. Handling is almost neutral. The split rear diff certainly doesn't feel as noticeably strange as in the heavy X6.Importantly, traction is improved and there is less likelihood of stability control intervening, which means you keep power on throughout the corner for higher G forces. The all-wheel-drive system adds to the body weight, but you simply can't feel it.Some may say supercharging is old fashioned and Audi last used them in the 1930s before reintroducing it in the A6 and now the S4. However, it feels totally modern with instant power and no whine or scream.It's a practical car you could commute to work, tour relatively economically, or take out for a serious tyre-shredding track day.For more detailed information, see your Carsguide newspaper sections or check back here in a few days.

The direct Audi competitor to the V8-powered BMW M3 is still some time away. Audi Australia marketing general manager Immo Buschmann says he doesn’t know when the RS4 would be coming.“We’re very happy with the RS6 and we generally have only one halo RS model at a time,” he says.Meanwhile, fans of the RS4 — which is credited with forcing BMW to move from a traditional in-line six to a V8 for its new M3 ($152,300) will have to satisfy themselves with the much more expensive RS6 ($263,500) released last year or the new supercharged V6 S4 at $118,900.The S4 features much the same engine as the supercharged 3.0-litre TFSI in the A6, but with reduced power and better fuel economy.Power is down from 253kW in the previous model S4 to 245kW, but Buschmann pointed out that the new model had more torque and, more importantly, better fuel economy.“Generally Audi wants every new model to have about a 10 per cent improvement in fuel economy, but this one is 24 per cent,” he says.Audi claims fuel economy is 9.4 litres per 100km.“A lot of customers would like a V8, but the supercharged V6 is the best for this time,” Buschmann says.“There might be some loss of sales by not having the V8 but the V6 will gain sales because of its fuel efficiency.”Buschmann says the benefits of supercharging over turbo charging are that it is smaller, runs cooler, has no lag, better economy and maximum torque.The S4 features a roots blower Eaton supercharger with two intercoolers, one in each cylinder bank.It has a seven-speed S-tronic transmission with Quattro all-wheel drive and an optional sport differential which splits the torque between the rear wheels for improved cornering, like the BMW X6 and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.

California-based Better Place plans to roll out its charging points and battery switching infrastructure in Israel and Denmark in 2011, followed by Australia then North America. Better Place Australia CEO Evan Thornley said keeping electric cars powered up required the two-pronged approach. "We will put plug-in points in carparks at the shopping centre, at home and at work to keep cars charging up while they are parked between 20 and 22 hours a day," Thornley said. "Charge spots will keep you going most times, but when you have a long trip you will need a battery-switching station. "We will play the role to electric vehicles that petrol stations play for petrol cars." Better Place this week recently debuted its automated battery-switching technology in Yokohama, Japan. The system replaces the depleted battery with a charged battery in under one minute. The car is driven on to a platform and the driver stays in the vehicle while two robotic battery shuttles replace the battery. The battery shuttles are designed to work with a variety of battery sizes and shapes in a range of electric vehicles. Thornley said Better Place would roll out charging points and switching stations conjointly. "We haven't started yet because there's no point in plug-in points until there are plug-in vehicles and there is no point having the plug-in vehicle until there are plug-in points. It's a bit of a chicken and egg thing." He said motorists would pay a similar price to keep their electric car running as they would for a petrol car. "We are confident we will deliver something competitive with petrol, because the energy costs are lower, but the cost of the battery is higher," he said. Better Place would have a range of payment options available such as a monthly fixed price or per-kilometre metering. "We will only use green power from existing wind and solar providers who, no doubt, will scale up with extra capacity as we have more customers," Thornley said. "The adoption program will probably be over the next 20 years." Thornley said they would demonstrate the technology around Australia before the roll-out begins. "We'll do the initial deployment and get most people up and running in most places, but can't guarantee we will be on the Birdsville Track in 2012," he said. "We will fill in the blank spots as we go on in smaller regional areas. It will take a few years." He said Better Places Australia was working with the Macquarie Group to raise about a billion dollars in capital for the roll-out and had formed a partnership with renewable energy provider AGL. "Australians spend $20 billion a year on petrol," he explained. "If over the next two years all the fleet moved to electric cars, the cost of the zero-emission electricity would be about $5 billion. "That's $15 billion a year to pay for the batteries and charging infrastructure." Thornley expects a range of competitors to enter the market, but he is not aware of any in Australia yet. "There is certainly no one else doing exactly what we are doing, but given the scale of the electric car revolution there will be a lot of companies so there will be a lot of competition," he said. "There need to be open standards so no one is locked out of competing." Better Place showcased its battery switch platform using a modified Nissan electric CX-9 SUV and recharged the batteries with Sharp photovoltaic solar panels. Better Place founder and CEO Shai Agassi said the automotive industry had been "inextricably tied to oil" for more than a century. He said Better Place would deliver a "complete solution" to drivers.