Mazda’s receives award for i-Stop system

Mazda has won the 2009 Automotive Researchers’ and Journalists’ Conference of Japan (RJC) Technology of the Year award for its idling stop system, known as “i-stop”.

The i-stop system is a fuel saving device fitted to direct injection engines that shuts down the engine when the car comes to rest.
Combustion energy is used to restart the [...]

Lexus introduces premium rear seat entertainment

Premium Rear Seat Entertainment (RSE) is now available in the Lexus RX range.

The rear seat passengers can now be entertained with video, music and games. Each unit has side loading DVD slot, a USB port, MP3 compatible, and AUX input for games consoles.
Both units can work separately or together with easy to use controls or [...]

Use your brain when using SatNav

It seems obvious – or at least it should seem obvious. When using your satellite navigation, keep your mind switched firmly to the “on” position. However a recent survey by UK website motoring.co.uk shows that people are taking what the SatNav voice is telling them as gospel.
According to the research, 20 per cent of women [...]

2009 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

The world’s most successful luxury car (W 221- series S-Class) which has sold 270,000 units in four years of production is now being replaced. Since the Model 220 came about in 1951 and started the lineage of the S-Class, German powerhouse Mercedes-Benz has sold around 3.3 million S-Class units.

Focusing on design and comfort with leading [...]

Holden VE Ute range achieves five-star safety

The Holden VE Ute range has become the first utility in Australia to receive the maximum five-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

This latest result means Holden’s entire locally manufactured range now boasts a full five-star safety rating from ANCAP.
The VE Ute now also becomes the only light commercial vehicle in [...]

2009 Global Green Challenge

For the first time ever, there is now a proper event whereby manufacturers can compete alongside each other equally to prove which one has the the most fuel efficient car. The Darwin to Adelaide challenge, better know as the Global Green Challenge is set to commence this Saturday (October 24).

Previous years have seen the event [...]

Toyota release ‘FollowMe’ portable Satellite Navigation

Toyota has released a new ‘FollowMe’ navigation unit that is incorporated in the dash but has the added bonus of being able to be removed.
As well as being a navigation unit it also controls the car’s communication and entertainment functions.

TomTom assisted Toyota with the development of the unit which, when not in the car, can [...]

Costly options of little re-sale value

Residual value experts Glass’s have in a recent UK-based report claimed that some optional extras are of little value on the used car market.

Glass’s say that expensive manufacturer fit options such as radar cruise control can drop 86 per cent of its value over a 12 month period while the car itself may only drop [...]

Toyota Yaris gains stability control as standard

Toyota has extended the safety of vehicle stability control and traction control to its 1.5-litre Yaris models as standard equipment.

The two linked systems have been specifically engineered for the 1.5-litre engine in the Australian market, providing an electronic safety net for the more affordable models in Toyota’s line-up.
These features are included along with the recently [...]

Subaru EyeSight +

In addition to the new Subaru Hybrid car the Japanese company will also preview its new EyeSight + (plus) safety system at Tokyo Motor Show (the previous generation EyeSight system has already been in use in Japan).

If you thought the Germans were the king of vehicle safety technology, you’d probably be right, but we are [...]

Report: Nissan settles GT-R transmission class action suit

The Nissan GT-R rocked the motoring world when it arrived on the scene, offering truly supercar performance at just a fraction of the price.

Although when the GT-R finally found its way into showrooms it quickly became apparent that there was a consequence for all this performance with the transmission becoming a costly Achilles heel for [...]

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