Articles by Staff Writers

Smokers who have lit up behind the wheel with children in the car have been slapped with more than $60,000 in fines this year in NSW.

We road test and review the LDV G10 with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Cops up the pace in McLaren V8

British television presenter Jeremy Clarkson, dropped from hit BBC motoring show Top Gear for punching a producer, will make a new car series for Amazon Prime.

This compressed air means more air into each cylinder and that means more fuel can be added.The result of extra air - with extra oxygen - is a more powerful burn within the combustion process. A turbocharged engine produces more power than the same engine without a turbocharger.The turbocharger uses the exhaust flow from the engine to spin a turbine, which in turn spins an air pump. The turbine in the turbocharger spins at speeds of up to 150,000rpm.The advantages include the "add-on" ability of a turbocharger to an existing engine; relatively low cost; low maintenance; and light weight. The disadvantages include some "turbo lag" - where the engine hesitates before the turbines spin high enough to produce sufficient power; additional heat in the engine bay; and complexity of exhaust and intake plumbing.Some engines use two turbochargers either of equal size or, to reduce turbo lag, different sizes.Most turbocharged engines - diesel and petrol - use intercoolers (effectively small radiators) to cool the air before it goes to the engine. This cool air is denser, so contains more oxygen, and maximises the power produced in the combustion process.

Operation Tabella, which encourages people to use tamper-resistant, one-way screws, will be launched by The Hills police in Kellyville next month. Commander of The Hills local area command, Superintendent Rob Critchlow, urged car owners to get involved and change to tamper-proof screws."The theft of numberplates is linked to other serious crimes such as robberies and frauds," he said."By using these clever screws, car owners can simply reduce a lot of crime."The free service will be conducted by police from The Hills police at Kellyville Plaza on Thursday, August 13, in the Woolworths carpark between 10am and 2pm. The Men's Shed will be putting on a barbecue.Police will install the tamper-proof screws if the registered owner is present on the day. They will also talk about car security and other safety issues.If your numberplates are stolen report it to the Police Assistance Line on 13 14 44.

Close to 30 motorists will claim compensation after their cars were left broken down beside a busy Sydney motorway yesterday after filling up with Caltex fuel contaminated with water.

Professor Warren Brodsky, the director of music psychology in the Department of the Arts at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, wrote in a new book about the connection between music, emotion, and driving."The car is the only place in the world you can die just because you're listening to the wrong kind of music," Brodsky told the news site Haaretz.It's not the genre Brooksy is talking about either, but rather the driver's emotional connection to the music playing.Drivers should avoid music that brings forward extremely negative or positive emotionsWhen a song comes on that a driver is emotionally connected with, they are distracted from the road. A song that inspires happiness, sadness, nostalgia or even simply high-energy toe-tapping can cause a driver to become unfocused from the road. Distracted driving is a major threat on the nation's roads. In fact, it's one of the top five killers behind speed, intoxication and fatigue.Brodsky's research shows that drivers should avoid music that brings forward extremely negative or positive emotions, and that a quick change in music can help change the emotional state of an agitated driver. He even went as far as to say that he envisioned a system in cars that would automatically change a song if sensors indicated an intense emotional reaction to help reduce car accidents.“Whether it’s Beethoven, Basie or Bieber is irrelevant,” the professor says. “Ideally drivers should choose tunes that do not trigger distracting thoughts, memories, emotions, or hand drumming along to the beat while driving.”

Ford's groundbreaking inflatable rear seatbelt makes its Australian debut in the all-new Mondeo.

Technology from cars is being used in undersea exploration.