Articles by Richard Read

The Tesla Model S that will arrive in Australia later this year has earned the highest safety score in the history of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US

Fiat is no stranger to special editions. First, there was the “So Pink” version of the 500, which titillated Mary Kay representatives around the globe. It was followed by the “Pink Ribbon” edition, which promoted breast cancer awareness. And then we saw the “500 by Gucci” model -- a model that proved so popular, the company recently brought it back from the fashion grave.Now, we have the Fiat 500c GQ edition, which is, according to a press release, “designed for the athletic yet style-conscious lifestyle of the modern man”. On the “athletic” side, the GQ edition comes with the same 1.4-litre MultiAir turbocharged engine found in the 500 Turbo. Mated to a five-speed manual transmission, that engine churns out 120 kilowatts and up to 230 Newton Metres of torque.Most of the other features on this special-edition fall into the “style-conscious” category. The 500c GQ features snazzy new 16-inch aluminium wheels finished in Hyper Nero (i.e. black), with a Rosso (red) accent in the middle.Subtle sills along the side boost the city car's sporty appearance without looking gimmicky. The headlamps, tail lamps, and parking lamps are finished in a Glossy version of Nero, and at the bottom of the B-pillar, you'll find a “GQ 500” badge.The interior echoes the exterior's understated, manly vibe. There's a three-spoke steering wheel trimmed in black leather -- leather that continues along the top of the dashboard, hopscotching onto the shift knob, and landing comfortably on the car's sport seats.Those seats are accented with inserts of Alcantara (a featured fabric on Lincoln's new “Black Label” models), with spiffy leather rings in Steam (aka white) and “GQ” logos on the back. To give the whole look a bit of polish, the interior is dotted with accents of satin chrome.The Fiat 500c GQ edition will come with four exterior paint options: Nero, Bianco (white), Argento (silver), and Granito Lucente (granite crystal). However, the fabric roof appears to come in one colour only: Nero. Pricing isn't available just yet, but the Fiat 500c GQ is expected to appear early next year as a 2014 model-year vehicle.www.thecarconnection.com 

The car industry is in a very weird place. On the one hand, sales are strong. After a few very bleak and painful years, most industry accountants have capped off their red pens and are writing almost entirely in black.Auto technology is booming, too. New powertrains hint at a zippier, greener future, and infotainment advances mean we'll be traveling in comfort, with a greater sense of safety. Heck, in another few decades, our cars may do most of the driving themselves, leaving us to nap, chat with friends, or watch movies on our commute.On the other hand, trouble's a-brewing. Young people seem less interested in cars, and that may not change. What does this mean for the future of an auto industry that's currently undergoing something of a renaissance? No one can say for sure.But the contrast of these two phenomena -- that is, strong car sales in the face of apparently declining demand -- raises an interesting question. Who the heck is buying all these cars? And more importantly, who's buying the Souls, Sparks, and other pint-sized models targeted at younguns?The Wall Street Journal has the answer, at least in the US: seniors. And they're not buying them for their kids or grandkids, they're buying them for themselves.What the? Whyzat? How did this happen? Apparently, all those dancing hamsters have made an impression on the senior set. According to folks interviewed by Christina Rogers, seniors appreciate cars like the Soul because they're easy to maneuver and equally easy to get into and out of - easier than big SUVs, anyway. They're nice-looking rides, too, which is attractive to Boomers who want to continue feeling youthful and desirable.Boomers also possess massive buying power, having accumulated significant savings during their lifetimes. (It's doubtful that their kids and grandkids will fare as well.) But Boomers don't want to spend all their money in one place, and to that end, subcompacts seem like a good investment, since they're often cheaper to buy and maintain than other vehicles.Will carmakers have to wait for Millennials (those aged 18 - 34) to retire before they start buying all those cute subcompacts? We'd love to hear your thoughts, no matter which demographic you're in.www.thecarconnection.com 

Rude drivers come in all shapes and sizes, and they drive a wide variety of cars. We've been cut off by soccer moms in minivans, sound-blasted by bass-powered hoopties, and nearly t-boned by more muscle cars than we can count.But for some reason, the rudest drivers on the road often seem to be those in luxury cars. Maybe that's just us projecting: we see a nice car, and we feel a tinge of jealousy, which creates an instant dislike for the driver.Or perhaps it's something we've picked up from movies: we see a Mercedes-Benz AMG zooming down the road and think, “Here comes another hedge-fund manager.” Or perhaps it's because the wealthy people who drive those cars really are jerks. For folks who buy that last argument, there's now a bit of proof to back it up. A paper published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the US suggests that the rich really do drive differently than the rest of us. The paper -- entitled “Higher social class predicts increased unethical behavior” -- was written by Paul K. Piffa, Daniel M. Stancato, Stéphane Côté, Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, and Dacher Keltnera. The researchers carried out a total of seven separate studies, each of which looked at the linkage between affluence and altruism. Many of those studies involved participants who identified themselves as affluent or upper-class. The two studies focused on driving behaviour, however, didn't engage directly with participants, but instead observed drivers at various intersections. A drivers' affluence was determined by the car she/he drove, which is, according to the study, a “reliable indicator of a person's social rank and wealth”. In the first study, observers stood at a four-way stop and noted how often drivers zipped into the intersection before it was their turn to go. In all, 12.4 per cent did so. In the second study, observers pretended to be pedestrians entering a crosswalk. (In California, where the study was carried out, drivers are required to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks.) A very substantial 34.9 per cent of drivers failed to yield to the observer/pedestrian. In both cases, upper-class drivers -- that is, drivers of luxury automobiles -- were most likely to drive rudely, and in the second study, break the law.Some of the study's other findings:Luxury car drivers were most prone to zoom through crosswalks, but every driver of a “beater” car -- indicative of the lowest class level -- followed the law and stopped for pedestrians.Women were more likely to stop for pedestrians than men.All drivers were more likely to stop for a female pedestrian than a male.BMW drivers were the rudest on record.Prius drivers were also fairly rude. (The Prius was considered a status model for the survey, given its standing in the moneyed celebrity and early adopter circles.)Do these line up with your own observations here in Australia? Sound off in the comments below.www.thecarconnection.com

Do you know where your owner's manual is? Did you read it from cover to cover when you bought your car? Do you read it these days? Chances are, the answer to at least one of those questions is “no”. Maybe that's because you're a whiz at cars, or maybe you feel like you know everything there is to know about your current ride, but for the rest of us, owner's manuals come in awfully handy. Problem is, there's a lot of information contained in a well-written owner's manual, and finding the answer to a particular question can often be difficult. Wouldn't it be easier if you could just look at a particular element on your car and know everything there was to know about it? Well, now you can -- at least on the Audi A1 and A3. In a press release from Audi's tech partner, Metaio, the two companies have just unveiled the Audi A3 eKurzinfo Augmented Reality App, an interactive owner's manual, stored right on your smartphone. It's the second augmented reality manual from them, following the recent launch of one for the A1 -- and suggests more will spread across the Audi range. The apps work very simply: when users have questions about a particular element on their car, they simply crack open the app and aim their camera at the element in question. For example, in the video above, a passenger wants to know about the stop-start button in the middle of the A3's dash. He points his phone's camera at the button, the app recognises the gadget, and a description pops up. He can then tap that description for a bit more information. A concern about the temp gauge leads to information about what's happening, and then direction to find the coolant top-up point -- a blessing for those who open a bonnet to find a confusing jumble of engineering underneath. What's also interesting is that the app draws its information from the cloud, so the app itself rarely needs to be updated, if ever. Provided you're not scrambling for information in a location without cell service, that's a great thing. We're predisposed to like this sort of technology. It's convenient, it's intuitive, and it's constantly updated, making it especially useful in the case of recalls and other problems. It's not yet a substitute for a hard copy of the owner's manual, but it could be very soon. The Audi A3 eKurzinfo Augmented Reality App is slated to debut on iOS devices. (No word on when an Android equivalent might appear.) It hasn't arrived on iTunes just yet, but if you're curious, you can check out the similar app for the A1. www.thecarconnection.com  

Just a few years ago, Toyota's future seemed pretty grim. In 2010, the automaker initiated a huge recall of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, which generated months of bad press and, for some consumers, a lingering mistrust of the brand. (Even though some claims of “unintended acceleration” turned out to be hoaxes.)In March of the following year, Toyota and other Japanese automakers suffered a crippling blow in the wake of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. The twin disasters caused more than 15,000 deaths, destroyed countless homes, businesses, and factories, and seriously curtailed Toyota's ability to produce vehicles.The situation only got worse in the second half of 2011, as flooding in Thailand took another bite out of Toyota's manufacturing capacity. But things are very different now. The recall headlines are gone, if not forgotten, and Toyota's production has returned to previous levels. And that may explain, in part, why Toyota is now the world's biggest automaker.According to Detroit News, Toyota sold 4.91 million vehicles during the first six months of the year. That gives Toyota a slim lead over #2 automaker General Motors, which sold 4.85 million vehicles from January 1 through June 30. (Volkswagen came in third with 4.7 million.)Toyota can't rest on its laurels, though. The company's sales are off 1.2 per cent for the year, hurt largely by slow sales in China, where Toyota and other Japanese automakers have endured boycotts and problems in the wake of territorial disputes between Japan and China.General Motors, on the other hand, is on a roll, with sales up four per cent in the U.S. this year. And for a portion of the second quarter, GM even outpaced Toyota's global sales.What's keeping Toyota ahead of the pack? The answer could be as simple as its heavy trucks -- the sort of trucks that GM doesn't make. As the world's economy recovers, causing upticks in construction, shipping, and other industries, sales of big trucks are growing. That gives Toyota something of an edge -- at least for now.www.thecarconnection.com 

Are we imagining things, or are automakers really stepping up to the plate when it comes to safety technology? It seems as if every other day, another company debuts an upgraded adaptive cruise control or a new pedestrian-detection system -- or an animal-detection system, for that matter.The latest safety innovation comes from Ford. According to Detroit News, it's called "Surveillance Mode", and it was developed in partnership with Intermotive.Surveillance Mode makes use sensors embedded in the rear bumper of a vehicle. When those sensors detect a someone approaching the vehicle too closely, the system automatically locks the car's doors and rolls up any open windows --  it can be disabled in areas with lots of pedestrians around. There's also a backup camera, which projects images onto a car's rearview mirror so that the driver can keep an eye on things behind her.Surveillance Mode is current being tested on police cars in the US, where officers are frequently targeted by criminals and where -- due to budgetary constraints in many areas -- police officers now patrol alone rather than in their traditional pairs. Instead of four eyes surveying the landscape, they're reduced to two. Surveillance Mode helps make up some of the difference.Surveillance Mode isn't terrifically expensive: as a stand-alone option, it's around US$250. Though it's currently limited to police vehicles, it's widely expected that the technology will roll out to everyday consumers soon. Is this the sort of thing you'd spring for on your own vehicle? Would it make you feel safe? Or would it just make you paranoid?www.thecarconnection.com 

A federal court in the US has approved the settlement of a class action against Toyota for $1.6 billion -- about $500,000 more than was previously offered by the carmaker.We've previously reported that Toyota had offered to fork over $1.1 billion to settle US lawsuits over allegations of unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles and a subsequent massive 2010 recall of about 10 million vehicles.About half of that money was meant to fix floormat issues and install brake-override systems, but the other half was earmarked for something entirely different: compensating Toyota and Lexus owners who sold or traded in their vehicles after the recall. Due to the hugely negative publicity surrounding the recall, those owners' vehicles were worth far less than they might've been.In other words, much of Toyota's $1.1 billion payout wasn't going to fix problems on cars; it was going to make up for the monetary damages customers suffered in the wake of the Toyota and Lexus brand-bashing.Why the holdup? Apparently, Toyota was still working out the details of the huge payout. It looks as if Toyota will now spend $757 million compensating customers for sudden depreciation (and paying lawyers, of course), while $875 million will go toward repairing and improving vehicles.Final approval of the settlement in the class action -- with claims that design defects (rather than driver error) caused some of the company's vehicles to accelerate without warning -- was granted in the US on Friday.The settlement terms include direct payments to customers, free installation of brake-override systems in about 3.25 million eligible cars, and the establishment of a specific customer support program. Plaintiffs' lawyers called the approval “a landmark, if not a record, settlement in automobile defect class action litigation in the United States”.www.thecarconnection.com  

Nowadays, there's plenty of stuff to distract drivers from the task at hand. Cell phones. Bluetooth headsets. Kids. But you know what's not a distraction? You know what's hunky-dory? You know what might actually boost concentration in the car? Music.That's according to Ayca Berfu Unal, an environmental and traffic psychologist in Holland. She led a study at the University of Groningen to examine the effect of music on drivers' concentration.To accomplish that task, she recruited 47 students from the university, ranging in age from 19 to 25. All had driver's licences, and on average, participants had over two-and-a-half years of driving experience.Unal asked students to create music playlists, then placed them in a driving simulator. Each participant was tested three times: first, with the music very loud; second, with the music at a moderate volume; and third, with no music at all.During those tests, Unal kept an eye on their heart rates. She also asked them to assess their own energy levels: were they bored? Sleepy? Energised?When all the tests were done, Unal discovered that music had no adverse effect on the participants' driving ability, whether that music was played loudly, softly, or not at all. In fact, those listening to music as they drove reacted more quickly to traffic conditions in the simulator than those not listening to music.And here's the real shocker: drivers' responses were quickest when the music was at its loudest. That might be because participants reported being more energised when the music was blaring.OUR TAKEAs interesting as all that seems, there are several problems with Unal's study:• For starters, the sample size was small. Forty-seven participants was enough to provide proof-of-concept, but to generate more accurate results, Unal would need to recruit more test subjects.• The sample group was also narrow, focused solely on young adults. Older drivers might respond very differently to loud music.• Also, Unal's study was conducted in a driving simulator. Real-world conditions could yield significantly different results.• To our knowledge, Unal's study hasn't been peer-reviewed, which would give it crucial authoritative weight.• The study focused only on listening to music. Singing, headbanging, or doing any of the other things we often do while jamming out in the car could completely negate any of music's beneficial effects.• Unal is aware of all these concerns and hopes to conduct follow-up research in the future. Her initial findings, though, are awfully encouraging for those who like to rock out on the road.www.thecarconnection.com

Do not click "play" on the video above just yet. First, clear the surrounding area of all liquids. Half-full coffee cups, entirely full water bottles, bowls of soup: whatever you've got, put it aside.And if you're on heart medication of any kind, please take it now. In fact, why don't you just skip to the next story? Nothing ruins a Friday like a trip to the emergency room.Okay, now you can press "play". We'll wait…You okay?We've seen restroom mirrors used in drunk-driving campaigns before, but this takes the genre to a completely new level.The event itself is the work of advertising powerhouse Leo Burnett, and it's set in an unassuming London pub. Guys mosey into the toilet to take care of business, then, while they’re washing up, blammo!Sadly, this isn't "real" footage; it's staged, with actors playing the part of bar patrons. Then again, the effects of the crash and the blood look so authentic because they're three-dimensional, not just video. Re-setting this every 15 seconds for real patrons at a real bar would be a nightmare. And it might also generate a few lawsuits.The clip is running on British television as part of a drunk-driving awareness campaign funded by London's Department for Transportation. We think it's pretty effective, but share your own thoughts in the comments below.www.thecarconnection.com