Author archive
Safety, Dollars, Speed versus Speed.
“It was more like extreme education. It happened about twenty years ago and I’ve never forgotten.”
“Because having the police personally means that I know I am PERSONALLY responsible for my actions. Getting something in the mail just feels like a rates notice or similar bill that just has to be paid (which I may or may not whinge about).”
“Personal interaction with a police officer is far more meaningful than merely receiving something through the mail like any other letter.”
“My young child was in the car with me. I felt like I had let them down.”
“It’s personal, it’s confronting, and it’s timely.”
NRMA Members talking about the effect of being pulled over by a police officer.
“Speeding”. It’s seen as one of the greatest sins a person driving a car can commit. It’s a subject that divides communities, raising ire and bringing forth strenuously opposing views.
But when is speeding speeding, when is it dangerous? In NSW there are freeways zoned at 110 kmh and one at 100 kmh. It’s not uncommon to see the majority of vehicles exceed, and comfortably, the 100 kmh mandated, but the flow seems to be fine at 110 kmh.
Residential roads are zoned as 50 kmh. Certain roads see traffic at no less, and often, 70 kmh.
What is speed? It’s distance over time, be it kilometres per hour or metres per second or thousands upon thousands of kilometres per year in the case of a space probe. It’s nothing more than simple physics but becomes a little more complicated when mass is involved. Why? Maybe this link will help: https://www.facebook.com/nswroadsafety/videos/954175617964007/
Speeding on a freeway or highway like the Hume that joins Melbourne and Sydney certainly has the potential to see excessive speed for the conditions (note the caveat) cause problems but what about the humble residential road?
At 50 kilometres per hour, it takes one second to cover 14 metres. At 70 kilometres per hour it takes one second to cover…wait for it…twenty metres. Think about that for (no pun intended) a second.
At 70 kilometres per hour, you cover an extra six metres per second than you do at fifty. On a long, open sighted highway, not so much of an issue but when it’s a residential road, with cars parked on the road, with the potential for a car or a dog or a ball or a child to suddenly appear in front of you, that six metres per second (coupled with the reaction time plus a probably more distracted or inattentive driver) will suddenly become very important and make a hell of a difference.
Sydney drivers are now used to seeing high visibility police cars in locations that aren’t readily visible to on coming drivers, yet: Seven out of ten (69 per cent) NRMA Members believe that a visible presence of police cars is the most effective way of tackling bad driver behaviour than other methods such as speed cameras.
But: As part of ‘Operation Slowdown’ in NSW, a single Traffic and Highway Patrol vehicle operating on the F3 was able to issue 16 infringement notices in one hour to drivers of unregistered vehicles using automatic numberplate recognition units.
Invariably, it’s presumed by the public that these are the cars that AREN’T highly visible, but the aforementioned non visible locations. It’s also an example that’s completely at odds with the wishes of members to have a more highly visible presence but also clashes with the statements presented by members that an interaction with the police has a higher and more longer lasting effect.
Another statement: It remains vital that education campaigns are followed up with police enforcement to cement the experience. Advertising alone without police enforcement does not change behaviour. The fear of getting caught is dramatically reduced when a person has not experienced being pulled over and randomly breath tested, an activity that can be done whenever anyone is pulled over by a police car.
Again, that interaction with the police is seen as more important. Consider a road that has a high school, a dead end road at that. Car and buses taking students to that school have to enter and they have to leave. Consider that a high percentage of drivers will travel at 70 kmh, not 50. It would appear that the logical thing to do is to place police vehicles in a position to monitor the speeds and enforce the laws pertaining to speed.
The conundrum here is simple: high visibility policing without booking or low visibility with direct interaction? The former will slow the cars but only for the time the car is on site. The second will penalise the drivers and, according to the members feedback, have a more direct and longer lasting effect.
It also begs the question of what is more effective for the mooted objective of the police and government, to reduce the road toll. Speed cameras are not seen as a popular alternative and the point to point cameras also. This statement possibly says a lot more than is realised about this objective: Only a limited portion of the NSW Police Force budget is focused on addressing road safety, so it is important that the money is used effectively.
We’re told that speeding is dangerous. The caveat is excessive speed for the conditions. A long, flat, open highway is as safe as it can be until it becomes wet, fogged in, smoked in from a bushfire or has drivers travelling, under ideal conditions, below the limit for no apparent reason.
A highway can be zoned at 110 kmh, with that velocity mandated to be utilised under the aforementioned ideal conditions. Some sections of road are signposted to warn of ice or snow and you’re warned to drive appropriately.
But on a residential road there’s no such warning system, no such reinforcement of the law, apart from the 40 kmh school zone locations. Inexplicably, drivers are still being penalised for speeding in school zones. Unfortunately there’s no readily available information as to whether there are repeat offenders.
And: The study showed that non-camera based methods were preferred by respondents and had higher self-reported compliance rates
To sum up: it seems that people have a longer lasting effect after being physically dealt with by the police, that a higher visible presence from the police will in likelihood change driver behaviour but it doesn’t seem as if the two will meet and work together. It’s expected to see police on a highway but not so on a residential road when there’s a higher proportion, kilometre for kilometre, of excess speed. People would seem to equate a high visibility but non interactive police presence with a speed camera, and very quickly ignored.
And an extra twenty kilometres per hour over the residential limit, six metres per second, has an increased stopping distance that could be vital if a child suddenly appears in front of you on a congested road. But this isn’t apparently seen to be nearly as dangerous as doing 120 in a 110 zone on a road and in an area that’s been specifically mandated to be that velocity.
Why?
Geneva Motor Show: What's New From Switzerland.
International car shows overseas can be a mixed bag, with some great design concepts and some odd ones. But they’re fantastic for the lovers and dreamers as companies like Pagani release updates or new models. With the Geneva show happening in the first week of March, there’s already been some teasers from a few makers…
Pagani have released an all new model of the tongue twistingingly named Huayra. Said to share no panels with the current model, the Huayra BC (BC coming from Pagani’s first ever customer, Benny Caiola), there’s very familiar styling to this road oriented supercar. With previous Pagani cars already garnering a reputation for performance and almost ostentatious interiors, the BC goes further in enhancing the performance record.
Let’s start with the engine. Never shy on power, the twin turbo 6.0L V12 from AMG has been further fettled, including a new exhasut to provide less back pressure. Power has been upped by 66 kW to an astounding 588 kW and torque moved to a truly amazing 1000 Newton metres. With a diet, work on the aero and active driving aids plus recalibrating the shift points of the seven speed auto, it’s expected the 1218 kilogram machine will see 100 kilometres an hour in under three seconds.
Pagai have also emphasised that the Huayra BC is more of road car without losing the predominantly track based aspect. Weight savings work has been performed on the suspension, which will add to the balance and handling of the already extremely competent chassis. It’s expected the new set up will weigh 25% less than the original Huarya’s suspension. 
Even the brake callipers from Italian masters Brembo to bite into the carbon ceramic discs and the wheels (20 and 21 inch diameter) have been lightened. Plus, Pagani will offer 19 and 20 inch diameter wheels, lightened Pirelli P Zero tyres and the ability to hit 2G in corners for buyers. To cope with those that have more expectations of their talent than reality actually has gifted them, Pagani will fit a track mode for the stability control system.
Finally, the opulence level has been turned down from 11 in order to provide even further weight savings…not to mention the “oh my eyes, my eyes” sensation. Final figures will be released at the show.
Fans of the now defunct Top Gear UK with JC, RH and JM, will be familiar with another odd name, Gumpert. As exotic as the car seemed to be, it wasn’t enough to save the Gumpert name. However, the company was salvaged and renamed Apollo, in a nod to the former Gumpert Apollo vehicle (yes, my head is being done in too). The Apollo car set records at both Germany’s Nurburgring and at the TG test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.
The revitalised car is now named the Apollo Arrow and is said to also pack in excess of 550 killerwatts. The original Apollo would see 200 kmh in just 9 seconds from the Audi sourced 4.2L V8, complete with twin turbos as well. Weight was just 1200 kilos.
Czech brand and VW owned offshoot, Skoda, is said to be offering something a little different for their forthcoming Octavia and Superb. Wireless smart phone charging is still not common place in the office or home however Skoda will be providing that as an option from April, for the European market. Wireless charging works by an induction process (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductive_charging ) with brands such as Samsung, Motorola and LG, amongst others, able to do so. Apple handsets apparently require a special casing, at this stage.
Ford has unveiled a refreshed Kuga; sporting a facelift not unlike Hyundai’s Tucson with an elongated hexagonal grille and redesigned lower front bumper, Ford will also lob the Kuga the updated Sync3 infotainment system, new 17/18/19 inch wheels, a slightly redesigned rear diffuser, a power operated retractable towbar (!) and slimline headlights. A new 1.5L diesel powerplant will also be offered, replacing the older 2.0L, but will provide the same 88kW while offering 4.4L/100 kilometres. 
Inside, there’ll be a new steering wheel, new aircon controls, a heated tiller for northern hemisphere clients, paddle shifts for the auto gearbox and will add in Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
The more powerful 110kW and 132kW versions of the old 2.0-litre diesel live on, with the latter available with Ford’s new ‘Intelligent’ four-wheel drive that adds torque vectoring and curve control, which are said to help drivers who enter a bend too fast.
On the petrol side, the 1.5-litre turbo Ecoboost engine with either 88kW, 110kW or 134kW outputs carries over, with the 178kW 2.0-litre EcoBoost dropped from the range. Australia should find out more towards the end of 2016.
Private Fleet will bring you more once the show has been started and new info is at hand.
Private Fleet Car Review: 2015 Ford Everest Titanium
Australia’s Ford Territory has been the brand’s local sole large SUV entrant since its release, supplemented by the mid sized Kuga and that car’s predecessor, the Escape. As October 2016 sees the cessation of manufacturing in Australia for Ford, the move to full importation sees world engineered cars arriving in dealerships, such as the rather large Everest. Sister car to the Ranger, it’s built using the same ladder chassis and powered by the torquey (470 of ’em from 1750 to 2500 revs) 3.2L diesel.
It’s the range and amount of torque, like the Ranger, that makes this six speed auto equipped beastie an ideal highway cruiser. Settle into the rhythm on the highway and it quietly lopes along with just 2000 revs on the tacho at the legal limit. Overtaking is somewhat of a chore, as the five cylinder diesel gets raucous, the gearbox drops back a gear or two and time stretches out….normal acceleration is the same, from a standing start, with a hard press of the loud pedal creating mucho noise. 100 is seen but count on ten seconds plus if you choose to drive normally.
Economy barely crested 9.5L/100 kilometres, staying closer to 9.9L/100 and used in a country highway cycle for perhaps 90% of the week. Having a tank close to the size of a swimming pool will help, however, with an 80 litre receptacle on board to hold the diesel.
Get it out on the freeways and highways and the driver, front passenger and rear seat passengers are cossetted with a soft ride, absorbing the lumps, the bumps, the ripples and dips. There’s a sensation of a slow pogo through the bigger dips, however, but the suspension needs to do double duty when you take it off road. 
The huge twenty inch diameter tyres at 265/50 (The entry level Ambiente gets 17s and mid level Trend rolls on 18s) contribute to the sponginess thanks to the firewall height and 36 psi pressure. The width of the rubber, from Goodyear, adds to the surefootedness of the big car, allowing the driver to feel confident with the grip levels. Steering response is also high, with very little freeplay and a well weighted feel.
Bear in mind it’s the same engine and gearbox package as the Ranger Wildtrack and that car’s cousins in 4×4 model range. The Everest moves that up a notch with a selectable range of drive programs, with Mud/Grass/Snow/Rock/Road modes selectable via a dial in the front centre cosnole. As does the Ranger, there’s a lockable rear diff as well.
Added tech in the form of Hill Launch Assist and Hill Descent Control backs up the off road cred the Everest has. There’s 225 mm ground clearance and if you wish to take your mountain swimming, there’s a wading depth of 800 mm.
All of this will come to naught if the brakes don’t inspire confidence, and they don’t. There’s the same dead inch or so of travel, a light bite and no real sensation of retardation, needing a longer press on the somewhat overly soft pedal. City driving, just like the Ranger, became a mission of planning ahead. With a kerb weigh just shy of 2.5 tonnes, that feeling of when will they bite simply isn’t good enough.
Outside, the Everest is big enough to form its own gravitational field. For starters, it stands taller than most people, at 1837 mm tall. It’s wide at 1860 mm (not including mirrors) and is long at 4892 mm, but still a bit shorter than the Ranger. 
That also translates into plenty of interior room, with the front passengers getting a whopping 1058 mm of legspace whilst the rear seat (middle row, more correctly, as Everest is a big seven seater) get by with 939 mm. There’s 1440 mm of shoulder room at the front, with virtually the same in the back at 1432 mm.
Because it makes the TARDIS look small, you need a decent aircon system and Everest Titanium covers this. Controlled in more detail via the touchscreen for the front, there’s also fan speed and temperature control dials on the end of the centre console, next to an overseas style 230V power point. 
There’s vents in the roof, surrounding the full glass roof, circular and adjustable for direction and flow.
Stylewise, the dimensions certainly make the Everest seem imposing; the front end is subtly different from the Ranger, with the headlights taller due to the LED driving lights set into the lower section, plus there’s normal driving lights inset deeply into silverish bumper facade. 
The grille is heavily chromed and les hexagonal, while at the other end the tail light structure is smoothly rounded, LED lit and display a double U shaped glow at night. Naturally it’s a power tailgate, with keyfob, interior and rear interior operation. It’ll chime politely at you to warn you and has a memory function.
The aforementioned 20s have plenty of clearance in the wheel well, again due to the expected off road prowess. The guards around the wheel wells have a fluidity to them, a smooth and almost organic style, bisected nicely by the running boards between front and rear.
The window line is around chest height for the passengers, so there’s plenty of easy viewing and balances the exterior’s vertical styling as it gently rises into the rear pillar.
The interior’s colour scheme was a surprise, being a dullish battleship grey theme, rather than black on black or black versus something light. The plastic wood trim didn’t quite fit the colour scheme, in A Wheel Thing’s opinion and the Everest logo on the passenger side glovebox looked decidedly American. 
Although the front seats were leather and heated, cooling wasn’t an option and that’s an oversight for the Aussie market. Being Ranger derived as it is, the dash is a direct lift, with the same LCD screens either side of speedo, the same options available via steering wheel tabs, with the addition of roll and yaw angles.
You’ve got the same blindingly simple to use but fingerprint attracting touchscreen, four quartered, with Navigation, audio (including DAB), aircon and Bluetooth pairing of the smart phones. And here’s a story…loaded up the phone with music and hadn’t paired the phone with the car. The voice controlled Sync2 system only picked up the three tunes that were on the phone before more was added but after a reboot of the handset saw them all….and would only play for four minutes before disengaging. Using the USB port was problematic as well, as the connections also disengaged, possibily moreso due to the ride quality over a very bumpy tarmac road.
The middle row seats are tilt fold, via a lever on the side and add to the capaciouscargo space available, with up to 2010 litres on offer. With the third row in use, there’s still a handy 450 litres. Said third row are also power operated, in keeping with the Everest Titanium’s luxury aspirations.
Given the family aspect of the Everest, it was a shame to not find a coolbox, rear window blinds, perhaps even a roof mounted DVD/Blu-ray player. Compared to the Kia Carnival Platinum, which is as likely to see off road action as the Everest, and has those features, they’re glaring oversights.
At least there’s lane keeping assist, parallel park assist, tyre pressure monitoring, blind spot monitoring and forward collision alert, along with airbags all around including driver’s knee and curtain side ‘bags to keep the family well wrapped should things go awry. For extra peace of mind, there’s the three year/100,000 kilometre warranty, five year perforation warranty and twelve month/15,000 kilometre service intervals plus complimentary roadside assist for twelve months.
The Wrap.
A Wheel Thing found the Everest Titanium to be a frustratingly mixed bag and of questionable value. With a driveaway price at around the eighty thousand mark, an interior not quite up to the grade you can get from BMW, Audi, Volvo and even Kia’s Platinum Carnival for the price being asked, sluggish acceleration, those frankly crap brakes, against a drive system that you could find in a Land or Range Rover, the grip levels, the fact you could almost live inside it due to the interior room, it tries to be the best of a broad spectrum and doesn’t deliver. One can only imagine how the resale value will go against the others as well.
Make up your own mind, if you’re in Australia. Take one for a drive, a good drive, and check out the online info here: 2015 Ford Everest
A Sprint to the Finish for Ford Australia's Falcon.
As October 2016 draws inexorably closer, the date set by Ford Australia to cease local manufacturing, the boxes of tissues are being stockpiled by the Ford faithful. But, for some, there won’t be just tears of sadness but tears of joy and, perhaps, a few born of anger and frustration. Why? Aussies will see Ford sign off on the Falcon nameplate by resurrecting one with more than a hint of history.
May 2015 will see the Ford Falcon Sprint go on sale, in a strictly limited numbers run of just 1400 cars. There will be 550 XR6 spec Sprints, 850 XR8 spec Sprints and there’ll be 150 cars, (50 XR6, 100 XR8) allocated to our Kiwi cousins.
Prices will start from $54990 (plus on road costs or ORC) for the XR6, so what will the canny investor get for their sheckels?
Each car will get an individually numbered plate confirming it was part of the build. There’s a specially Sprint calibrated 5.0L V8 with 345 kW and 575 torques. Of note will be the range that torque is to be made available. It’ll start from 2220 revs and will stay there through to 6250. Adding to the expected genuflecting purists will exhibit will be the transmissions.
Yes, transmissions plural. If Sir has three legs there’s a proper gearbox, a manual, or for easy as you go driving, a six speed auto. It’s auto only for the XR6 Sprint, with the turboed 4.0L offering up 325 kW and a hardly shy 576 Nm at 2750 rpm. The auto will be recalibrated to take advantage of the near V8 Supercar torque.
Both XR6 Sprint and XR8 Sprint will be able to momentarily top those numbers, with 370 kW and 650 Nm on overboost for the six, whilst the big vee will go to 400 kW and the same torque.
There’ll be uprated brakes from Brembo (six and four spot calipers, front and rear), blacked out headlight bezels, 19 inch diameter black painted wheels, a black rear decklid spoiler and blacket out foglight surrounds. In addition, the XR8 Sprint will also receive a Silhouette black roof and wing mirrors. The XR6 external indicator light will move to teh wing mirror and the cars will be given Sprint scuff plates in the door section. There’ll be just six colours on offer, with metallic such as Victory Gold a mere $500 premium.
The interior also gets an overhaul, with Sprint leather and suede trim for the pews, auto dimming rear vision mirror, bespoke trim for the instrument cluster, high end audio and a Sprint labelled head for the manual’s gear selector. Sprint specific decals will adorn the exterior and the wheels will also be different widths front to rear.
Along with the extra go and the trim, the XR6 will also feature an Aussie first, with a carbon fibre air intake system. Said to be stronger and more responsive than the current setup, Graeme Whickman, president and CEO, Ford of Australia also says: “The Falcon’s legacy will live on well beyond this year through our designers and engineers that will continue to innovate to make Australian’s lives better. The Falcon XR6 Sprint’s new innovative carbon fibre engine air intake is the latest example of how our local engineers and suppliers will reshape the auto industry well into the future.”
The manual XR8 Sprint will be priced at $59990 +ORC with the self shifter at $62190 + ORC.
Yes, October 2016 is on its way but there’s no doubt that this farewell from Ford Australia will put the Falcon Sprint well into the history books as possibly the best Falcons ever to be built.
Written exclusively for Private Fleet by Dave Conole. Information provided by Ford Australia via autonews.net.au
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