Opinion

Why can Facebook fix a problem that a call to customer assistance lines cannot?

They say competition improves the breed and there's no better example than the automotive industry.

When it comes to luxury cars, the headline price is increasingly just a tease. At least that was the case when I visited the dealerships of the three popular German brands this week.

How can the same car score five stars for crash safety in Europe and only four stars in Australia?

Politicians have been banging on about fuel economy and emissions standards in the wake of the Volkswagen diesel cheating scandal.

Stranded on the side of the road with a blown tyre, this person spent hours waiting for help. All the while, people zoomed by. Even tow trucks and roadside assistance vehicles streamed past. People stared but no one stopped.Desperate, this person made a sign in their window that said "Need a jack" and offered money to anyone who would stop. No one did. Until, as they were about to give up, an old van pulls over and a man bounds out.He can't speak English, but his daughter, who is in the car, speaks a little. The man conveys through his daughter that he has a jack and he sets to work.Just as they're making way, the tyre iron snaps. The man runs to the van, gives the broken tyre iron to his wife, who speeds off to buy another one. She returns and they finish the job. Sweaty and filthy, but happy, the wife produces some water for them to wash their hands in.The stranded man, grateful and indebted, tries to hand his rescuers some money, they refuse. He slips it to the wife quietly. They ask if he's had lunch, and when he says no, they give him some food. The girl tells him they are on their way to work, picking fruit.The man thanks them again, astonished that a poor family, probably being paid by the hour, would take a few hours out of their day to help a total stranger. He walks back to the car, gets inside, opens the foil wrap on his food and what does he find inside? His money.Today you...tomorrow meHe runs back to the van and the guy rolls his window down, and waves him away, still refusing to take it. He smiles and with what looks like the greatest concentration, says in English; 'Today you...tomorrow me".It was a sentiment echoed in our State recently as mother nature tore a black hole through the earth. We responded with random acts of generosity. People waving firies away as they tried to pay for groceries, beers or hotel rooms. Communities rescuing wildlife, housing friends, sheltering neighbours.It's proof of why our state still feels like a big old country town; because when it comes down to it - we are. We care about each other. We feel a responsibility to help each other. We're inherently good. And we have more heart than Phar Lap.A lot of the time I feel like modern life has shifted to a default position of selfishness. We've put greed on a shiny pedestal and we're taught to be in everything for ourselves, to compete, seize the day, capture the castle, take what we can from wherever we can get it and then post it online to self-congratulate.It's the little things that make a big differenceAnd with all this, are we any better off? Are we happier, healthier, richer? Not really.Adelaide, you have started the year off with actions that seemed small but sent a powerful message: we are better when we help each other.We promise ourselves at the start of each new year to be better but soon enough the feeling fades. Could we do more? Give more? Help more? Do something that would put another person in a better position?It's the little things that make a big difference. From cooking your neighbour a meal, to stopping when someone needs a hand, to just saying hello when you pass someone on the street, goodwill has a far greater impact than we can ever know. People who are in need never forget the help they're given. And you never know when you'll be on the other side of it.

Inattention created by texting is deadly but I'm becoming increasingly concerned about the dangerous practice of 'eat-driving' in Australia.I don't know if you have ever driven in the United States, but it's common practice for drivers to have their breakfast during the trip to work in the morning; a hot cup of coffee precariously balanced on the centre console, with the passenger seat acting as a table for a plate of cereal, perhaps even a bacon and egg roll just picked up from a drive-through takeaway.We seem to be moving in the wrong directionOur cousins from the other side of the Pacific even chuckle over occasional driving mishaps; heavy braking can cause a huge mess as the ingredients of breakfast mix with one another in a horrible slime on the driver's lap or the carpet on the other side of the car. I've never heard them chuckle over the huge mess created to human bodies during fatal crashes when things really do go wrong, though...Australians generally aren't nearly as bad as Americans, but we seem to be moving in the wrong direction. Especially in Sydney and Melbourne where ever-heavier traffic means drivers are having to get up earlier just to get to work on time. And drivers seem to feel that eating, drinking, reading the morning paper, making some phone calls, or scribbling a few notes in the diary is quite acceptable when behind the wheel.Research shows that failure to pay attention...causes about 40 per cent of all major crashes in the USAEat driving is certainly less dangerous than texting behind the wheel, but is still dangerous.Okay, so most try to set up their meals while their cars are stopped in traffic. But we all know the temptation to finish what you are doing after you are able to move off again, and that few seconds of inattention can result in a crash.Research shows that failure to pay attention - eating, phoning, texting, applying makeup, and much more – causes about 40 per cent of all major crashes in the USA. I see no reason why this figure shouldn't apply in Australia. Perhaps the Americans have fewer crashes than Australians because they have so much practice at eat driving – so the Aussies may be killing more people per capita than the Yanks.The only thing you should be doing whilst driving a car is just thatFailure to pay attention is approximately eight times more dangerous than travelling at excessive speed, but I'm not sure the last time I heard of anyone being pulled over and fined for this dangerous practice.I've said it before and make no apologies for saying it again. The only thing you should be doing whilst driving a car is just that – driving a car. If you don't have two hands on the steering wheel, two eyes on the road and 100 per cent of your mind on the task at hand you're putting your life at serious risk.

For you and me, that's a Three-Letter Acronym and it could be anything from ESP or DSC to SLR.It doesn't have to be just three words of technobabble that get shortened for simplicity, and who can forget the DINKS - Double Income, No Kids - and DINKY-DI - Dog Instead - people of the 1990s.These days, marketing people talk about Gen-Y and Empty Nesters and High Net-Worth Individuals, and there is a huge amount of time and research being aimed at customer groups and the cars that will suit them best.How else do you explain the BMW X6, which began as the answer to a question that no-one had asked and is now a global seller.How about PUMCINS? They are apparently easy to spot by their goats' cheese in the fridgeIn 2015, research-and-development spending in the car industry is estimated at $50 billion - a year - and we've just heard a whole bunch of new tags for people in the sights of the sales gurus who are searching for the next niche to plug with a car like the Mazda CX-3 or Mini.How about PUMCINS? They are apparently easy to spot by their goats' cheese in the fridge and are called Professional Urban Middle Class in Nice Suburbs.For busy families, or career-minded 20-somethings, the tag could be NETTELs. That's Not Enough Time To Enjoy Life.And, for the baby boomers with a 20-something still living at home to pick up the benefits of cheap board and cleaning, this could be the one. It's KIPPERS: Kids in Parents Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings.

Modern cars are designed with occupant safety as a priority.

Safety doesn't sell cars. If it did, there would be no need for governments to mandate the fitment of potentially lifesaving technology on new cars.