Articles by Staff Writers

McLaren highlights former world champion Emerson Fittipaldi in this third episode of McLaren's Tooned 50 series, looking back at the history of the British race team and supercar manufacturer as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations in 2013.   Watch the video here.  

What happens when you run into a magical fairy -- nearly -- while out driving the Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG? Watch video here to find out.

McLaren gives a look at how the organisation's founder Bruce McLaren started off in this second episode of McLaren's Tooned 50 series, looking back at the history of the British race team and supercar manufacturer as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations in 2013.   Watch the video here.  

Jimmy Iskandar, from Casula, has been ordered to pay $31,762 by Parramatta Local Court for odometer tampering and other offences. The cars were bought from licensed car dealers, private sellers and auction houses, and were tampered with as follows:• On 12 February 2010, Iskandar purchased a 2004 Mercedes-Benz E320 sedan for $30,000. The odometer reading at the time of purchase was 210,000 kilometres. He subsequently sold the car with the odometer reading showing at 91,000 kilometres.• On 15 February 2010, Iskandar purchased a 2006 Toyota Aurion AT-X sedan for $16,990. The odometer reading at the time of purchase was 191,244 kilometres. On 29 March 2010, he sold the motor vehicle to Rana Motors Pty Ltd with the odometer reading 149,520 kilometres.• On 19 August 2010, Iskandar purchased a 2006 Toyota Camry Altise sedan for $6,000. The odometer read 152,153 kilometres but on 27 January 2011, he sold car privately with an odometer reading of 88,580 kilometres.• On 29 August 2010, Iskandar purchased a 2006 Toyota Camry Altise sedan, with an odometer reading of 170,000 kilometres, for $8,000. The same day he sold the motor vehicle to Rana Motors Pty Ltd with an odometer reading of 55,723 kilometres.• On 9 November 2010, Iskandar purchased a 2008 Toyota Camry Altise sedan from Hertz Australia Pty Ltd for $14,000 with an odometer reading of 68,826 kilometres. At the time of the sale in January 2011, the odometer reading was at 35,059 kilometres.• On 5 January 2011, Iskandar purchased a 2007 Toyota Camry Altise sedan for $9,000. The odometer at the time of purchase was 149,750 kilometres but when sold, the odometer had been wound back by more than 100,000 kilometres.• On 15 February 2011, Iskandar purchased a 2006 Toyota Camry Altise sedan from Rana Motors Pty Ltd for $8,000 with an odometer reading of 121,429 kilometres. Two months later he sold the car for double the price with an odometer reading of 46,118 kilometres.• On 14 April 2011, Iskandar purchased a 2007 Toyota Aurion Sportivo sedan with an odometer reading of 155,709 kilometres. On 9 August 2011, he sold the car with a reading of 55,944 kilometres.• On 13 May 2011, Iskandar purchased a 2007 Toyota Aurion Prodigy sedan from Highway Car Sales for $14,000. The odometer reading at the time of purchase was 140,105 kilometres. Four months later he sold the car for $15,000, using his business card with an expired wholesalers’ licence number. The odometer had been wound back by over 90,000 kilometres.• On 9 August 2011, Iskandar purchased a 2005 Toyota Tarago GLi van for $11,000 with an odometer reading of 177,623 kilometres. Two months later he sold the van for $20,000 with an odometer reading of more than half the figure.• On 18 September 2011, Iskandar purchased a 1997 Toyota Tarago GLi van for $4,000 and sold it two months later for $4,500. The odometer discrepancy was more than 48,000 kilometres.• On 17 December 2011, Iskandar purchased a 2005 Toyota Tarago GLi van. The following month he sold the van for $1,500 more to a church group, with the odometer reading reduced by almost 60 per cent.• On 15 February 2012, Iskandar purchased a 2007 Toyota Camry Ateva sedan for $10,000 with an odometer reading of 153,148 kilometres. He subsequently advertised the sedan for $15,500 with an odometer reading of 59,000 kilometres.Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe said it was fortunate for Mr Iskandar that such offences do not attract a prison sentence.“While Mr Iskandar pleaded guilty in court, unfortunately he did not make the same admissions to his hapless clients and he stood to make a significant amount of money from his duplicity in the process,” he said. “Odometer tampering is a serious offence and poses a significant detriment to the consumer.’’ 

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A former SAS soldier reportedly confessed to his wife that Princess Diana was assassinated and that a bright light was shone into the Paris car she was being driven in. The soldier, known only as Soldier N, made the admission after taking Prince William on an SAS advanced driving course in 2008. Soldier N swore his wife to secrecy but she told her mother the extraordinary story. "If it was not for Prince William being given driving lessons by the SAS, these allegations might never have emerged," a source told the UK's Sunday Mirror newspaper.  "He went on to tell me that it had to be done in a tunnel, that people had been monitoring them ... a light was shone in the driver’s eyes." "He also said that it very nearly didn’t happen. When I asked how anyone could do something like that he said, ‘It’s an order, a job’s a job’. He said that it had to happen in the tunnel to guarantee death. He said that it looked bad so they left," the wife said. She also told detectives that her husband had claimed that the "hit" had been carried out on the orders of individuals within the royal inner circle because they didn’t approve of Diana’s relationship with Dodi Al Fayed. Soldier N told his wife that a former colleague, who had since left the SAS, was involved in the plot and that a motorbike and white car were used. The women are said to have given "compelling" accounts about the crash which killed Diana, 36, Dodi Fayed, 42, and their driver Henri Paul, 41, in a Paris underpass in 1997. Diana’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, a former Paratrooper, was seriously injured in the tragedy. Dodi’s father Mohammed Al Fayed has always insisted his son and Diana were murdered by the British establishment in a conspiracy involving MI6. He is convinced that a white Fiat, which smashed into the Mercedes but was never traced, was involved, along with a motorcyclist.  

Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson has hinted that he could enter politics, running against embattled Labour leader Ed Miliband. The outspoken BBC presenter suggested on his Twitter feed that he could run as an independent at the UK's next general election. "I'm thinking I might stand in the next election as an independent for Doncaster North, which is where I'm from. Thoughts?" he wrote. Top Gear destroyed one-off Mazda concept show car It was unclear how seriously he is considering the idea - or whether it was a spot of mischief-making. He has in the past had to apologise to Mr Miliband's political mentor and predecessor, Gordon Brown, after calling him a "one-eyed Scottish idiot". Clarkson scarecrow slows speeders His intervention comes after a difficult summer for Mr Miliband who has endured a series of stinging criticisms of his leadership from within his own ranks.  

McLaren's F1 drivers Jenson Button and Sergio Perez star in this first episode of McLaren's Tooned 50 series, looking back at the history of the British race team and supercar manufacturer as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations in 2013.    Watch the video here.  

A court heard how drunken Daniel Cooper, 24, stripped off while out with friends. The father of three was seen urinating in the street before walking down the High Street in Holywell, Wales, with his trousers round his ankles and his t-shirt pulled above his head, British media report.He then shocked fellow revellers by walking into a kebab shop and simulating sex with the counter of the takeaway. Married Cooper, described as being a "caring family man", then dropped to the floor and began doing the same.He then left the shop and gyrated against a Land Rover Discovery that was parked nearby. Cooper says he was so drunk he could not remember what happened - until he was shown the CCTV pictures of his actions.He pleaded guilty and was placed on a three-month community order and must remain indoors between 7pm and 7am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights for the next three months. His sex act with the counter of the kebab shop was filmed by some of Cooper's friends but was later deleted, The Telegraph reports.One of his pals said: "Daniel will never live this down – everyone is saying he was 'tyred' and 'exhausted' afterwards. "He is not a pretty sight when naked. We all felt sorry for the Land Rover and hope it wasn't offended." 

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