August 8th, 2008
In a blow to the automotive design community, Andrea Pininfarina, head of coachbuilding and design company Pininfarina, has died overnight in a collision.
Pininfarina, who was 51, was riding his Vespa scooter, when he was hit by 78-year-old driver Giuliano Salmi, on the outskirts of the city of Turin. The real irony is that he was killed by a Ford Focus - one of the vehicles his company was deeply involved with.
Best known for its work on Ferraris, Fiats, Alfas, and developing convertible versions of existing product, Pininfarina’s company has been a driving force in the motoring landscape of Italy.
So much so, that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said in a statement Pininfarina was “the representative of a dynasty that helped bring the story of ‘made in Italy’ to the world.”
Ferrari head Luca di Montezemolo had this to say:
“With Andrea Pininfarina I have lost a great friend and outstanding business partner. Together we shared years of work and successes with the Ferrari cars he designed.”
“He was a man of great humanity and in this moment of deep sorrow my heart goes out to his parents, his wife, children, brothers and all his collaborators at Pininfarina.”
London’s Telegraph noted that when his death was announced, trading in the firm’s shares were suspended as a sign of respect.
His family also said his body would be taken to the chassis plant at Cambiano near Turin so employees could pay their last respects.
He is survived by his wife Cristina Maddalena Pellion di Persano, and three children.
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July 20th, 2008
It seems at least one employee at the BBC had their doubts over the performance of the new Nissan GT-R’s brakes.
A crew member of Top Gear Magazine allegedly rear-ended Japan’s pride and joy in an unsuspecting Audi R8 whilst shooting on the Isle of Man.
You will be happy to know however that this same GT-R was repaired in record time to make its official appearance at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Source: GTROC
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July 16th, 2008
For the third year in a row, Western Australia has claimed the title of the worst state in Australia for road deaths per capita.
Yesterday, a report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau showed that in the last financial year there were 10.4 road deaths per 100,000 West Australians. Respectively, next worst region was Tasmania, with 8.3 deaths per 100,000. Queensland had 7.9 deaths per 100,000, South Australia 6.8, Victoria 6.3, New South Wales 5.7 and the ACT had just 4.4 deaths per 100,000 people.
WA’s automobile club, the RAC, said it was sick of the current government’s lack of progress on road safety.
“The one thing that concerns us most is the fatality rate is still up there with the worst,” RAC Executive Manager, Member Advocacy David Moir said. “Only the Northern Territory is up there with us, and that’s no endorsement.”
“What is most disturbing is that WA has been up there for the past couple of years,” Mr Moir said. “The Government needs to get this new road safety strategy implemented as soon as possible. We are concerned there’s no step-up in the Government’s efforts on road safety at the moment, when we have a serious problem with road safety in WA.”
This is despite an increase in speed cameras, and more visible police cars with highly reflective livery.
Regardless of where we live in this country, deaths on the roads are not acceptable.
CarAdvice would like to know what your strategy for tackling the road toll would be. What would you present to your state government, as a solution to bringing down the road toll?
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January 8th, 2008
Well, someone had to be the first to do it. All of us here at Car Advice have shed a collective tear this morning. We arrived to our computers to find this beast of beauty looking very sorry for itself.
The circumstances of the accident are unknown, however it appears to have taken place in Hong Kong, and looks to be the driver’s fault, as only the front end is smashed. Whatever the case, someone is going to have some explaining to do.
Yes, the typical, “It’ll buff right out” has been thrown around, but most of the comments have been along the lines of, “Even if you can afford one, it doesn’t mean you know how to drive one…”
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December 18th, 2007
Well, it didn’t take long, did it? The new Subaru Impreza WRX STi has just been released in Japan, and someone has broken the heart of every Subaru fan (us included) by crashing into one.
This car is feeling very sorry for itself, sitting in a smash repair yard in Japan. The talk on the internet hasn’t been kind, ranging from comments like “The rear end looks less like a Focus now. Improvement for the better!” to the universally overused “that’ll buff right out.”
And think: he only took 282km to do it, too.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks to Tom Jakovljevic for the pics.
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July 26th, 2007
Ooh, that’s got to hurt. This poor F430 (we think) met its maker a few days ago in the Philippines.
You can only imagine what the owner was thinking at this instant
Seems as though the engine committed suicide.
It still looks good from the front…
Thanks to CarScoop, more photos available here.
July 13th, 2007
First it was the P.M’s son that was caught drink driving - Tim Howard. This time around, it’s the Victorian Premier’s son that has been caught drink driving. Nick Bracks not only drove while intoxicated - he blew .129; more than twice the legal limit and .129 more than the legal limit for provisional license holders - he also crashed his black Saab into a tree.
Luckily, only minor injuries were sustained during the crash that has left an embarrassed Premier Bracks lost for words.
Mr Bracks told the media today that “He’s been an absolute idiot,” referring to his son.
Courtesy Herald Sun
Nick Bracks, a 20-year old P-plater allegedly went into Melbourne City with friends, becoming intoxicated at a night club. He then allegedly caught public transport back home, where he took the black Saab out to go to the shops. Soon after leaving home at 4AM, Nick Bracks lost control of the early model Saab and hit a tree.
One of his passengers sustained a cut, but the situation could have been a lot worse.
Premier Bracks - away at Wye River - said that he felt helpless when his son telephoned him about the incident.
Mr Bracks said his son deserved to be punished with the full force of the law and won’t receive special treatment.
The accident happened at the corner of Melbourne Road and Hosking Street in Williamstown, Victoria.
March 7th, 2007
Fans of UK Motoring show Top Gear would be very well aware of the Bugatti Veyron. A car worth over $2,000,000 Australian dollars with 1,001 horsepower which can accelerate from 0 to 100km/hr in 2.6 seconds.
And now, someone in the UK (Surrey) managed to crash one.
Reports suggest that the accident occurred in heavy rain on a 60km/hr section of Renfree Way, Shepperton, Surrey, on Sunday. How can this happen to the worlds ultimate supercar?
A van of course, a Vauxhall Astra van carrying a pregnant woman, who was taken to hospital as a precaution but later went home.
The police have obviously blamed the Bugatti driver for driving without due care and attention. Now I don’t know about you but if I had a 2 million dollar car, I’d be driving it with a bucketload of care and attention!
I would love to see his insurance premium bill for next year!
Reports suggest that the owner of the car is Businessman Kumar Soni who lives in a 3 million pound mansion only a few KM from the site of the crash scene.
Eye witness accounts suggest that the car was speeding prior to the accident. The rain was lashing down when the accident happened and the car spun three times before clipping the Astra. One motorist who stopped told the police he thought the car had passed him at around 100 mph and it made him flinch as the car threw up spray from the road as it roared past him.
“After the accident there was more trouble for the driver when a man arrived in a dark VW 4 x 4 with personalised number plate. He was shouting and screaming and saying to him that he could not believe he had crashed the car.” Daily Mail UK
It is thought the angry motorist was Ajay Soni’s 41-year-old brother who is known to drive a 4X4 VW.
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