Fun Stuff

Ford's take on speed dating.The Blue Oval delivers surprise of a different type to their Halloween car wash, setting up a group of guys who think they're on a date with someone that checks a few boxes on a certain stereotype checklist.Expectations are shattered, however, when our driver "just needs to make a quick turn" in an empty carpark...The new Mustang will arrive locally in November and be available with either a 233kW/432Nm 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine or the more traditional 5.0-litre V8, which will produce 325kW and 540Nm.

For decades, the Christmas period has been marred by horrific road deaths, but this once-notorious road toll has been dropping sharply to the point where the fatality rate at Christmas is now well below the average for the year.On average, 3.2 people die on Australia's roads every day, although many more are seriously injured. Had this rate prevailed over the past 11 days, 35 people would have been killed on our roads, but instead the toll so far is a much lower 25 or 2.3 per day.These results are at odds with some of alarmist claims reported in the media. A Fairfax columnist wrote yesterday that "it has been an appalling holiday season on Australia's roads".Massive police resources have certainly had an impact, as has the threat of double demerit points, according to Assistant Commissioner John Hartley, who commands NSW Police's Traffic and Highway Patrol."Good drivers drive better over this period. They are extra-cautious. The double demerit points highlight the road safety message," he said.NSW yesterday reported its lowest road toll since 1923 with just 309 deaths for 2014, but drug and mobile phone use are two emerging threats to road safety.Analysis by the NSW Centre for Road Safety found that illicit drug use was a factor in about one in 10 fatalities, almost as many as drink driving. The focus on lower fatality numbers, however, tends to obscure the full extent of road trauma.Better medical treatment has meant that fewer people die in accidents, but many more are left with serious injuries.Assistant Commissioner Hartley said about 5000 people were seriously injured in road accidents last year in NSW.Figures for 2008-09, the latest available national data, reveal that bout 9000 people were hospitalised in Australia with what is termed "high threat to life" injuries.While the road toll has fallen about 30 per cent since the early 2000s, the number of seriously injured people has increased by the same margin.The ACT, which has the lowest incidence of road deaths, did not record any deaths over the Christmas period, and only 10 for all of 2014. But about 700 people are injured on ACT roads each year.Sergeant Tracey Duck said driver awareness and joint programs between police and government had contributed to the lower-than-average road toll."It's also up to individual drivers to make a personal commitment to drive safely so that we can reduce road trauma in the ACT," Sergeant Duck said.Rebecca Ivers of the George Institute for Global Health said there needed to be "much more thought put into managing new technologies in cars and keeping abreast of technological developments".

Watch the Lotus F1 team's semi-trailer jump over one of their F1 cars to set a new world record.An oft-quoted factoid in motorsport circles is that a Formula One racer can drive upside down in a tunnel.A never-quoted factoid is that you can jump a Formula One transporter over a Formula One racer.Enter stuntmen Mike Ryan and Martin Ivanov who went out and did just that, and set a world record in the process.Martin - whose credentials as a stuntman include work on the James Bond movies - slides the Lotus F1 racer underneath the team's semi-trailer.The truck - with The Fast and the Furious alumni Mike behind the wheel - sails majestically through the air before landing a world record-setting 83 feet 7 inches away from where it took off.Whether or not you can drive a Formula One transporter on the roof of a tunnel remains to be seen.

The Barina in the ‘Buy My Barina’ ad that went viral has been crashed and gone to the car park in the sky.The banged up Holden Barina in the ‘Buy My Barina’ ad that went viral earlier this year -- with 1.2 million hits and counting -- has crashed and gone to the big car park in the sky.The 1999 model of various fading colours with more than 188,000km on the clock became a worldwide hit after advertising agency guru David Johns created an elaborate YouTube clip as if it were for a new car, with such honesty as “matching seats” and “10 months rego”.The Barina bomb was sold to NRMA Insurance for an undisclosed sum, who donated the money to the Cancer Council.The insurer then used the Barina in a crash test, but not before it remade the advertisement in the original style.Worse still, the insurer crashed it in front of the original seller and creator of the ad, Sydney-based David Johns.The Barina will now be broken down for scrap after it has been used in displays showing the difference in safety between new and old vehicles.Crash tests show, in a serious collision, you are more likely to die or be severely injured in a car without airbags that one with airbags and a modern body structure."Drivers can be about 10 times more likely to die or be seriously injured in a crash driving a used car with a poor safety record compared with a top performer," said Royal Automobile Club of Queensland spokesman Steve Spalding.CarsGuide does not operate under an Australian financial services licence and relies on the exemption available under section 911A(2)(eb) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) in respect of any advice given. Any advice on this site is general in nature and does not take into consideration your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making a decision please consider these and the relevant Product Disclosure Statement.

Hoonicorn Mustang makes its video debut in Los Angeles with Ken block's Gymkhana 7.Proving that 1.8-litres was never enough - even bolted to a whopping turbocharger and purpose-built Fiesta gymkhana weapon, Ken Block has returned for his seventh blast to internet stardom.This time set around the crumbling concrete of downtown Los Angeles, Block's latest effort proves that his new 630kW, 6.7-litre all-wheel drive Ford Mustang can be just as spectactular when thrown rearwards with all four wheels spinning forwards, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.Officially named the Hoonicorn RTR, the 1965 Mustang-based mechanical monster made its static debut at SEMA earlier this month.Gymkhana 7 opens in an industrial warehouse with Block introducing the new car by way of his latest trick - doing a burnout whilst the car is chained to a wall.The restraints are released and Block heads off on his tour of Tinseltown.Past the burnt-out shell of a Subaru WRX rotting in the pristine waters of the LA River before indulging in a few doughnuts at the famous Randy's, and into Chinatown.Block also enjoys an unusual traffic-free run down one of the city's freeways, drives circles around and under a bouncing Chevy low-rider before finishing in typical style atop Mount Lee, looking over the City of Angels and its smog-filled sky from the iconic Hollywood sign.The occasional-World Rally Championship driver and part-time shoe salesman's heavily choreographed Gymkhana videos have earned him global praise for his ability to navigate obstacle courses, city centres and the odd movie set with guile and a liberal application of the handbrake.

Ford US has come up with a unique way to make sure a test drive of their cars is a memorable occasion.They invited 30 people to take part in a 'filmed test drive', but were asked run the car through a nearby carwash to make sure everything was spick and span.Straight forward, right? Not so much. Ford had a little surprise in store...

This is our first real look at the coming Project CARS racing game, which is due to hit the shelves in November for Playstation 4, XBox One, Wii U, plus PC and Steam computer operating systems.What's immediately apparent in the trailer is the superb rendering of even fine details like the movement of suspension components. With the early footage "approved for all racers by Slightly Mad Studios" the title -- produced under the umbrella of WMD (World of Mass Development) claims to be the ultimate driver journey.While it has the normal sole racing and challenge modes, the game also includes a career mode that lets the player set racing goals over time, and online group events.

Daniel Ricciardo has never had a broader grin than since becoming a race driver for the Red Bull Formula One team. But a recent series of stunt with French brand Renault has him looking beyond his developing Grand Prox career and into the future.So far  we've seen him delivering pizza, playing AFL and now he's trying his hand as a Taxi driver.But what's the best fit?Watch the desktop version of Ricciardo tries taxi driving video here.Also watch: Daniel Ricciardo deliver pizza.And watch: Ricciardo on the ball with AFL.

Watch the CCTV shows how not to go postal video on our desktop site. 

Red Bull Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo is obviously looking to life beyond racing, and the career prospects for somebody with his driving skills.While in Australia for the recent Melbourne GP, the Aussie racer had a try at delivering pizza. Fast.Renault has some other stunts lined up for Ricciardo to get some handy work experience in other roles. But in the meantime, all those pizza parlours that offer the food free if it doesn't get there on time might want to give him a call -- he's a sure thing as a delivery driver to beat the clock.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincottWatch the Daniel Ricciardo delivers pizza video on our desktop site.