Articles by Staff Writers

Christmas is just around the corner, and if you’re wondering where you can find some extra money - you might be surprised to hear it’s hiding in your garage. If it’s a while since you last cleaned it out, you’re likely to find it’s mysteriously filled up with car bits and pieces, and a horde of other items that no longer have a place in your daily life and are taking up precious room. There’s no reason to let these space thieves stay – especially if you can turn them into hard, handy cash. A well-sorted garage should house nothing more than your car, tools and any sporting or other equipment you actually use, or know you will use in the future. Take a sharp look at anything else, and move it on to another home, pocketing the proceeds in the process. There’s no need to keep things cluttering up your space, when it’s so easy to sell them for free online, says a spokesperson for Australia’s newest free marketplace, Traderoo. “A lot of us are sitting on a garage gold mine,” Traderoo’s Magda Cortez says. “We’re often pretty good at sorting through our wardrobes, kitchens and other areas in the home to cull unwanted items, but often we forget to look in the garage as well.” “Putting those unwanted items for sale online can make you piles of money. One person’s trash really is another person’s treasure.” Cortez says the newly launched classifieds site, Traderoo, is a fully Australian-owned and operated business – unlike the giant marketplaces eBay and Gumtree, which are both US-owned. “Traderoo is a site built by Australians, for Australians,” she says. “And it’s a great place for Australians to list their items for free. “You’ll soon be reaping the rewards and buying a whole swag of new stuff. Santa’s sleigh is already looking full.” Cortez says there are a few simple tips that will help you do a clean-out quickly. • Set aside a specific day, and get the family, flatmates or friends involved. Make it fun with a picnic or pizza lunch as part of the project. • If you haven’t used something for a year, and can’t clearly identify a time you’ll use it in the coming year, move it into the ‘sell’ pile. • If you’re undecided, get your helpers to vote on whether it goes or stays. If they say ‘it goes’ and you are still feeling the pangs of separation, put it in a ‘maybe’ pile and review it again in a month. • Spread out a plain sheet or find a clear piece of floor or wall to photograph each item without anything else in the background. This will help your photos ‘sell’ your item. Most smartphones take photos that are good enough if you can get the item into even light (not bright sunlight).

If you need to ask the price, then you probably can't afford it. We're talking about the new Bentley Home furniture collection, inspired by the renowned craftsmanship and exquisite materials that characterise the interiors of all Bentley cars.Designed to furnish luxury homes and offices, the collection combines Bentley's inherent qualities of craftsmanship, heritage and tradition, exclusivity and style, with the exacting design of one of Europe's leading furniture makers.This exclusive collection blends the finest elements of traditional and modern design, an exercise in subtlety rather than showmanship, incorporating functional performance with comfort and luxurious, sensuous quality. It captures the elan of the Bentley driver, through items that mirror the impeccable quality and attention to detail which is a landmark of the Bentley brand.The bodies of the new Richmond pieces are created with an embracing double shell and can be covered in either leather or a fine veneer of burr walnut. The same wide selection of veneers which is available for Bentley car customers is also available for most pieces in the collection.The wood is then carefully matched to a padded structure covered in a sophisticated light cashmere. Intricate details such as the leather braid around the contours highlight the soft and sinuous lines. The iconic quilted diamond pattern embossed in the leather interiors of a Bentley has also been interpreted into the unique designs of the furniture.

Holden is celebrating 35 years of the Commodore with the introduction of a special edition VF Commodore International sedan and Sportwagon, available only for a limited time.Building on the already highly-specified VF range, Commodore International adds additional luxury and sports features including leather appointed seats, 18 inch alloy wheels, blind spot alert and reverse traffic alert. The International badge is fitting for the VF Commodore, which has received critical acclaim as a car that rivals the world's best.Holden's Phil Brook, said the Commodore International added to VFs already exceptional value story. "We wanted to celebrate the anniversary of an icon by introducing even more great value features on the all-new VF Commodore," said Mr Brook. The Holden VF Commodore International is priced at $36,990 (sedan) and $38,990 ( Sportwagon). An LPG option is also available for an additional $2,500.

It features in the latest Bond film, has been driven by Angelina Jolie and is a firm favourite of the Queen, but Land Rover will have to stop producing their Defender model – after it fell foul of new European laws on fuel emissions. The last Land Rover Defender will be made at Solihull in the West Midlands in December 2015 by Jaguar Land Rover. The company are now working on a replacement to try and adapt the car to meet the EU’s new emissions rules. The royal relationship with Land Rover goes back to 1948 when King George VI viewed the original Land Rover – which was based on wartime jeeps. The Queen took delivery of her first one shortly after coming to the throne in 1952. The company currently holds a royal warrant and the Queen is regularly seen behind the wheel of a trusty Defender as she drives around her estates at Sandringham and Balmoral. A Jaguar Land Rover spokesman said: "Production of Defender will stop at the end of 2015. A replacement vehicle will join the Land Rover range, but the Defender in its current format is coming to an end." The departure of the current Defender will be echoed by other major changes in the Land Rover line-up, with a new baby version of the Discovery arriving the same year to replace the Freelander. Official details of the new arrival have not been revealed, but are expected to start trickling out closer to the vehicle’s unveiling – tipped to be a the Geneva motor show in March 2014.  

He's mastered the mountain five times before, but never has Craig Lowndes had to be wary of a Nissan or Mercedes popping into his rearview mirror during a Bathurst 1000. Sunday's Great Race will be the Red Bull Racing pilot's 20th start at Mount Panorama and 500th race in the V8 Supercars/Australian Touring Car Championship. Yet the always-smiling Lowndes admits he still gets that "funny feeling" in his stomach whenever he sees the famous mountain. "I don't think it matters how many times you come here, you still get that same feeling," he said yesterday. Lowndes, who sits second on the 2013 championship standings just 96 points behind his teammate Jamie Whincup, has finished on the podium eight times at Mount Panorama in the past 10 years. One more podium finish will tie him with legends Peter Brock, Larry Perkins and Jim Richards (12) for the record of most podium appearances in the history of the Bathurst classic. But for each one of those races, Lowndes has had to deal only with a rival Holden or Ford. His Bathurst debut came in 1994 -- the last time a Mercedes-Benz lined up on the grid and two years after Nissan quit the category.  Come Sunday, the 39-year-old expects to be somewhat nostalgic when the two manufacturers hit the track for the first time since they returned to the sport at the start of the year. "It's almost like the old days when I used to sit at home watching it growing up, hoping one day to be there," he said. "So it'll be quite a spectacle to see the Nissans and Mercedes running around the mountain again." Lowndes said his second-place finish last round at Sandown had provided a timely shot in the arm for himself and the RBR Holden team, after a poor weekend at Winton in August. "It gave us massive confidence," he said. "But Bathurst is the one we all really want to win."

A Sunshine Coast-based car dealership has secured its first Brisbane showroom parking itself on a prominent southside location in the Queensland capital. Cricks Auto Group has a three-year lease with an option on a 2500sq m site which includes an 800sq m showroom at 1323 Logan Rd, Mt Gravatt. Netrent Commercial's Revon King, who struck the deal worth about $330,000 a year gross with Maroochydore-based Mike Shadforth from Property Only, said the site was vacant for a couple of years. "I've been marketing it for about 12 months," he said. "We had a number of people look at it but they (Crick Auto) were the only people to make an offer on it." Mr King described the site, next to the Mt Gravatt Hotel, as "very specialist" in its use. "A lot of people looked at it even for a supermarket and other uses but they couldn't make those numbers work on the asking price," he said. "So it was only this dealership that was willing to pay the kind of rent the owners were looking for." The Crick Auto Group was founded in 1995 and has 10 dealerships representing 17 new car brands.

This year’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 sees Mount Panorama notch up 40 years of 1000km racing, with the Bathurst 500 (miles) changing over to the Bathurst 1000 in 1973. To highlight the landmark year, Irwin Racing’s Lee Holdsworth and Craig Baird hit the vintage wardrobe – complete with tacky wigs -- and take a wander through track history at the National Motor Racing Museum. They give us potted versions of their knowledge about some of the key exhibits – and a cheeky swipe at retiring legend Russell Ingall. Watch the National Motor Racing Museum video here.

A man created a fake 60km/h speed limit sign and then photographed it to use as evidence in court to avoid a speeding fine, a court has heard. Robert Bruce Jacobs, 56, of Eden Hills, has pleaded not guilty to one count of fabricating evidence at Panorama in South Australia. He faces up to seven years' jail if found guilty. Opening Jacobs' District Court trial, prosecutor Emma Roper said Jacobs had been pulled over by police for speeding in a 50km/h zone on Boothby St, about 4.45pm on May 18, 2009. Ms Roper said Jacobs disputed his expiation notice, claiming it was a 60km/h zone, and took the matter to the Adelaide Magistrates Court in April 2010. She said Jacobs produced a series of photos during his trial showing a 60km/h speed limit sign on Boothby St. "The 60km/h sign was not in fact on Boothby St at the time," she said. "The accused arranged for that 60km/h sign to be put over a bus sign at a later date." Ms Roper said Jacobs had returned to Boothby St to take photographs of the fake 60km/h sign in order to influence the outcome of his Magistrates Court trial. She said the magistrate dismissed Jacobs' speeding charge after his photos had been tendered in court. Ms Roper told jurors police later seized Jacobs' computer and a USB device and found digital copies of the photographs, showing the fake 60km/h sign, that had been taken on February 22, 2010. She said a Mitcham Council staff member would give evidence in the trial that the council had never erected a 60km/h speed limit sign on Boothby St. In his opening, Jacobs - who was self-represented - said he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of creating a fake sign to avoid a fine. "I have no reason to manufacture a sign. I had no reason to get out of the (Magistrates) court hearing," he said. "I never intended to alter the outcome of the court other than hoping for a lesser fine on the day." Giving evidence, Constable Iain Farquharson said he had never seen speed limit signs on Boothby St since he began conducting laser duties there. Const Farquharson said the only sign indicating the speed limit was a "big yellow sign" with "Remember 50km/h" on nearby Eliza Pl. Motorist Jodie Bishop, who was also pulled over for speeding on the same day as Jacobs, gave evidence that she could not recall seeing a 60km/h speed limit sign on Boothby St. Jacobs faces a maximum seven years in prison if found guilty. The trial, before Judge Julie McIntyre and a jury, continues.  

Nissan’s replacement for the giant-killing R35 GT-R is looking to arrive some time in 2015, and persistent reports suggest it will sport some form of hybrid electric power to help keep fuel economy and emissions within the boundaries of public acceptance. MotorAuthority is reporting that such hybrid tech could come with the assistance of Williams Advanced Engineering in the UK, the organisation famous for a long Formula One heritage.  Williams already has a significant input in the hybrid technology used by Audi and Porsche race teams, including Audi’s hugely successful Le Mans racers, and has an existing relationship with Nissan’s performance arm NISMO for future road car development. Nissan recently applied to trademark the “R-Hybrid” moniker, which suggests that the Japanese carmaker is indeed working on performance hybrid models, but it is yet to be confirmed whether the badge will be applied to the future GT-R. If the next GT-R does end up using hybrid assistance, it is unlikely that a flywheel-based system used by the current Audi and Porsche racers will be employed, but rather take advantage of Williams’ electrical energy recovery and storage knowhow, plus electronic control systems and electric-motor traction control.  

FAA Automotive Australia, distributors of the Foton Tunland one-tonne ute, have built up a generic mine spec' version of the Tunland dual cab, with a view to demonstrating it in selected mines around Australia. The Mine Spec Tunland features a steel tube external ROPS (Rollover Protection System) comprising an over-cab bar structure and a steel bull bar with aerial mounts, a heavy-duty anodised aluminium dropside tray, integrated UHF radio and various safety accessories and customized lighting required on mine sites generally. FAA director Grant Phelan said the Tunland had some notable advantages in the conventional cab one-tonne ute class which suited modification for a tough life in the mines. "Unlike all other one-tonne utes, Tunland's Cummins 2.8 litre turbo-diesel engine has a cast iron cylinder head whose superior thermal efficiency enables reliable operation at higher temperatures, with the added benefit of thermostat-controlled electric radiator fans rather than the power wasting (and noisy) viscous-coupled fans paired with alloy head utes. "Tunland's engine also does duty in Foton's bigger trucks up to 4.5 tonnes GVM so is understressed in Tunland, a further boon to the Cummins' longevity reputation. A steel plate sump guard is standard on Tunland 4x4.