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Road Responsibility: Why Does It Seem Illegal?
I don’t know about you, but does it seem, in the light of Megan’s wonderful contributions recently, that the ability of people to take responsibility for their actions has decreased to the point that it’s almost illegal to be seen as doing so? Road rage is here and it’s here to stay. Yet there really are no reasons why it should be, BUT it’s also too easy to understand why road rage exists, given some of the truly awesomely garbage antics that are meant to be examples of driving, that we see on our roads daily. When a driver’s error (or two or five…) are pointed out, instead of a “yeah, sorry mate, you’re right, I shouldn’t have cut across three lanes to end up in front of you before slamming on the brakes so you almost hit me whilst I was texting”, you’re met with a torrent of abuse that would make a drill sergeant blush. Hang on, I’ve been driving correctly, doing nothing wrong, except for maybe listening to the radio station I swore I’d never listen to again but it’s MY fault that your driving standards are so bad that even Helen Keller could do a better job? In her sleep?
So what IS it that has people cursing you instead of acknowledging their error? What is it that’s gone wrong in society that to be seen doing the right thing is now the wrong thing? Driving a car really isn’t that hard, especially with the (to my mind) overwhelming push to automate almost every aspect of driving. Hop in, press the Start button, move a short, stubby lever to D and that’s about it. So why is it so hard to indicate, to slow down and stop for a red light, to go the right way in a shopping centre car park, to stop and check for traffic at an intersection rather than hammering through? And why is it so hard to acknowledge that doing those is wrong when someone says so?
A common response from our illmannered brethren is “You a cop mate? If you’re not a cop, why don’t you f##k off?” So, in order to be seen to be doing the right thing, a good driver pointing out a bad driver’s errors also has to be a cop? Does that also mean that you have to be a cop to pull a dog off another dog or a child? Does that mean you have to be a cop to shake your head at someone shoplifting? No, you don’t and to think so is absurd. 
In the world of motoring, we come across some things which baffle us; why we seem to get a string of red lights, for example, or why road designers insist on making roundabouts too big for buses to use properly. These are, generally, pretty easy to deal with, in the greater scheme of things. But why someone thinks it IS perfectly ok to stand on the brake pedal in front of you after cutting in front, only for you to see there was, in fact, nothing of front of them, and when you toot your horn in perfectly understandable human frustration you get thrown a barrage of verbal bricks, is one of life’s current imponderables. And, in the interest of fairness, it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, you’re a driver of a car, a 1500 kilogram potential weapon. If you’ve done something wrong and it’s pointed out, it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, you’re a crap driver.
It’s not illegal to take responsibility for your crap actions on the road, do what Megan so correctly suggests here at point 6: http://blog.privatefleet.com.au/home/calm-the-farm-avoiding-road-rage/ so if doing the right thing is too hard, if using indicators is too hard, if driving without your iFone headphones plugged into your ears (stupid, given you have a radio with inputs in your car!), if admitting you’re wrong is too hard then, please, do the rest of us a favour and hand your license in. It’s illegal to drive badly but it’s not illegal to be told you have been.
Have a great day.
Classic Cars: HDT VK "Blue Meanie".
A certain bank has a singer reciting the refrain “Three Little Letters”. There’s three little letters that resonate with fans of Australian motorsport; they are H D T, Holden Dealer Team. The origin of this goes back to the late 1960s, with the legendary Harry Firth putting together a team of star racing drivers. Amongst them was a young bloke by the name of Peter Geoffrey Brock.Fast forward to the late 1970s and Holden have released their new car, called Commodore. The first model was the VB, followed by the VC, in 1980. As part of a deal organised by Brock in order to get solid finanical backing, he’d agreed to put his name to smartened up versions of the VC and thus was HDT SV (Special Vehicles) born.
In 1984, the VK Commodore was released; marketed as a world class car, it became the basis for what has become, possibly, the most famous car from the HDT factory. Australia had moved to follow the international Group A motorsport classification and Brock’s magic wand was about to be waved over the VK. A process called homologation was in place, effectively a way of showing that cars that could be raced were to be sold to the public and not specifically developed just for racing; with 500 needing to be sold the HDT team swung into action. The venerable Holden 5.0L (308 cubic inches) was, under Group A regulations, destroked to 304ci (4987cc), a body kit was bolted on, consisting of a deep front air dam, side skirts, huge rear spoiler, “letterbox” grille and silver or white painted aero wheels with the car itself based on the SS model available. The engine pumped out a decent, at the time, 196kW and had a massive 418Nm of torque at a usable 3600 revs, breathing through a HDT specific cold air intake and a Rochester 4 barrel carbie mounted on a port matched intake manifold. Power was put down through the rear tyres 
via a four speed M21 manual transmission and single plate dry clutch however a five speed was optional. Bridgestone supplied the rubber, their Potenza 225/50s on those luscious 16 inch diameter wheels and the car rode on the tried and proven McPherson struts/Panhard rod suspension. Stopping power was provided courtesy of the 281mm discs, vented at the front. The colour that would be the seed for the car’s now legendary status, Formula Blue, coated the VK’s flanks and close to thirty years after it was released, still looks fantastic. SS Group A decals, complete with the Brock signature, were placed on the front quarter panels and badges were placed inside confirming that your car was, indeed, one of the (in this case) 502 built.
Performance was considerable; with a body weighing just 1340 kilograms, first gear would see 87 km/h on the clock, on the way to 100 km/h in just seven seconds. The grunt of the 4.9L would ultimately propel the slippery beast through to a top speed of 215 km/h and cover the standing 400m in a then rocket like (for a non racing car) 15 seconds. The price for all of this performance? There was a premium over the standard car, to be sure, at a lick under $22000, plus aircon was a $1035 option… but it’s the car that has firmly implanted the HDT SV name into the Australian automotive consciousness. After Brock died in that terrible crash in 2006, his good mate, Peter Champion, bought the HDT SV business and continues to build excitement, including the VE Commodore based “Blue Meanie”.
Lamborghini Huracán Ready To Storm Australian East Coast.
One of the world’s newest supercars is getting ready to storm into Australia’s east coast showrooms with the impending launch of the Lamborghini Huracán 610-4. Heading to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, potentially in September (exact dates unconfirmed at time of writing) the 448kW/560Nm 5.2L V10 engined brute features a seven speed transmission, a carbon fibre/aluminuim chassis and rolls on elegant 20 inch diameter, ten spoke, alloys, clad in 245/30 front and massive 305/30 rear Pirelli tyres, specifically and specially designed and engineered for the 325 km/h beast. The name comes from the horsepower figure, 610, and all four corners providing drive. Peak power is seen at a stratospheric 8250 revs and torque at 6500rpm.
Central to the Lamborghini Huracán’s imposing look is the wedge design, with the height almost exactly half of the car’s width. It’s 2236mm in overall width, stands just 1165mm tall and is a lithe 4459mm in length. It’s a compact wheelbase at 2620mm and has a broad track at the front, at 1668mm whilst the rear, thanks to the huge rubber, is just 1620mm. All up weight is a sneeze over 1420 kg, allowing a horsepower to weight ratio of just 2.33 kilos per pony. Sipping an average of just 12.5L of fuel per 100 kilometres from the 80 litre tank, the Huracán will power to 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds on its way to 200 klicks in 9.9 seconds. It’s also Euro6 emissions compliant at 290 grams CO2 per km, with the engine breathing out through four catalytic converters and powers all four paws via a 7-speed LDF dual-clutch transmission, with a slightly uneven weight balance of 42% front to 58% rear. The electrically assisted steering (optionable for Lamborghini Dynamic Steering for a more racing like feel) helps the Huracán turn in 11.2 metres. The two seater interior has body snuggling seats, with the driver facing a digital dashboard and stitched leather console. Externally, the good looks continue with a clear panel showing off the powerplant nestled behind the passenger cell.
The Huracán takes over from the mega successful Gallardo, with 14022 units produced over a decade and covers half of all Lamborghinis sold since the company was founded in 1963. In keeping with the famous tradition, the Huracán draws upon bullfighting, in this instance, going back to 1879 and a bull of the Spanish Conte de la Patilla breeding.
Sebastien Henry, head of Lamborghini Automobilia for the South East Asian and Pacific regions, said ahead of the Australian launch: “”We are very proud to officially launch the new Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4 here in Australia. Automobili Lamborghini continues to set new benchmarks in the luxury super sports car industry with its pure and cutting edge technology, and we expect the Huracán to be well received in this country.” Perth, in Western Australia, already has a showroom. Australians, being a tech savvy lot, will appreciate the all LED lighting externally, a first for a supercar and the design feature of a single line, in silhouette, from the windscreen over the passenger cell to the rear, passing the side mounted engine air intakes. Apart from hi-tech chassis, buyers will also get a bonded aluminuim and composite structure, carbon ceramic brakes discs with a pizza platter sized 380mm disc at the front and 356mm at the rear.
Pricewise, Lamborghini offers to lighten your wallet to the tune of $428,000 plus on roads and government charges, with three years warranty and unlimited kilometres attached to a 12 year anti-corrosion warranty. Orders are and will be taken via all four showrooms when they open on the east coast. For more information head across to www.lamborghini.com.
Big Space: Toyota Kluger GXL AWD
Toyota has built its name on reliability and offering a car for the right segment. The Land Cruiser, Corolla and, lately, the 86. Some time ago it created a new market by releasing the RAV4. There’s now 4 models in Toyota’s SUV range: Land Cruiser, Prado, RAV 4 and Kluger, a range released just over ten years ago. It’s gone from being a medium sized vehicle to one almost as large, in all dimensions, as the Land Cruiser. With four distinct vehicles to choose from across quite a few variations, just WHERE does the Kluger fit in, especially the GXL AWD A Wheel Thing tested for a week? Updated and released to the Aussie market in March of 2014, it’s an evolution of the previous model yet it’d be hard pressed to be recognised as the great grandchild of the original.
The Donk.
Toyota have thrown a 3.5L petrol powered V6 under the acre sized bonnet of the current model Kluger. There’s 201kW and 337 Nm of torque on 
offer; 
however it’s got to move a 2020kg (sans passengers and fuel) vehicle that’s 4.8 metres long, just over 1.9 metres in total width and 1.73 metres in height. As a result, fuel economy is not great, call it 12L/100 kilometres from a 72 litre tank as an average. Around town it slurped harder than a shearer on a beer after a hard day in the paddock. The issue is not the torque, it’s WHERE that maximum figure comes in, a stupidly high 4700 revs. This means the engine is working harder at lower revs to get and keep the bulk moving. There’s no diesel offered for the Kluger either, consider that when you’re shopping for a people moving SUV…it’s mated to a six speed auto, the only transmission available, plus the GXL comes with either a two wheel drive (front driven) or, in this case, an all wheel drive setup that is part time but can be locked. There’s descent control fitted as well, which all works well enough however the Kluger seems to slot into the rarely and barely used for off roading segment. The auto is smooth, silky smooth; with low throttle applications the change is barely perceptible and it’s only by the flick of the rev counter’s needle that you know something’s changed.
The Suit.
Of recent times, there seems to have been a push back to blunt, vertical noses for SUVs. 
Although this may seem non aerodynamic (and could very well be), there’s other tricks designers and engineers apply to try and make a brick on wheels a bit more slippery. There’s some extension to the headlight and taillight structure, to divert and bend airflow. There’s a rake to the rear window line, the headlight cluster is swept back into the fenders, with a front on view giving some idea of how the aero has changed for the 2014 Kluger.The taillights flow though into the tailgate (non electrically operated in the GXL). The grille is taller than the outgoing model whilst each and and the wheel arches have tough polyurethane shrouding. The GXL came with tidy 18 inch alloys, shod with 245/60 Michelin Latitude rubber.
On The Inside.
It’s a leather look and plastic interior, setup for
five seats with two hidden in the rear cargo section. The rear seats are configured for slide and tilt to give a completely flat load surface and there’s also rear seat aircon controls and vents. It’s typical Toyota ease of use and sensibility. 
Then we look at the dash and wonder how the styling could be so….unusual; there’s a double fold to the top of the dash with one surface coming from the passenger airbag and vent before disappearing behind the second surface, the dash binnacle, which runs across through the centre and across the audio block. Squeezed in between and not altogether harmoniously, there’s a clock whilst lower down, the plugs for the USB and auxiliary inputs are almost inaccessible and hidden from view. Front aircon controls are sensibly laid out 
however the touchscreen surrounds look and feel low rent. It sits above another storage section that’s deep and big enough for mobile phones and sweeps across to the passenger side air vent. 
Audio quality was good, with nice depth, clarity and separation. The dash dials have a standard look to them however the info screen tucked in between them seemed to lack the 
option to show the velocity. 
The tiller is comfortable to hold and has the now almost mandatory assortment of buttons for audio, Bluetooth etc. The seats themselves are reasonably comfortable, have a good measure of under thigh support and at the front they bracket a rather large storage console. It’s deep enough to hold bottles or a handbag which gives a subtle clue as to the Kluger’s target market.
The Drive.
Nowhere near as lumbering as its big brother, the Land Cruiser, the Kluger is quite agile, belying its size. Of immediate note, though, was the thump from the front suspension as the Kluger goes over one of the larger school sized speed humps at low velocity, sounding as if the strut towers were being pulled out. Although there’s little free play in the steering rack, it still requires a bit of turn for it to bit and send the front 
wheels where you want them. Once loaded up there’s some nice bite, some good feedback and tight response, with the front end going where you point and the rear follows faithfully, like a well trained pup. The suspension settings are taut initially, rolling smoothly into a good level of compliance and there’s little of concern body roll wise as it corners nice and flat. Acceleration is decent, at the cost of fuel consumption but stopping the 2000 kilo plus Kluger wasn’t always confidence inspiring. The pedal seemed long and lacked true bite, with a number of not so quick stops feeling as if the car in front was about to have a Kluger in the boot. The GXL came loaded with a locking diff and hill descent control as well but it’s not, in A Wheel Thing’s opinion, the vehicle people would use for anything other than a bit of gravel work.
The Wrap.
It’s a crowded market that this new Kluger comes into, with SUV offerings from almost every major manufacturer. Toyota’s off road heritage is well known, its reputation almost unbreakable and they stand as the company effectively responsible (or blameworthy, in some eyes) for the SUV market. With around a half dozen Kluger variants available, in three trim levels and two or four wheel drive configurations, it covers the bases. However, its size and price points, compared to its opposition, plus its thirst and lack of a diesel variant, has A Wheel Thing questioning the relevance of the Kluger. There’s cheaper, more suitable soft and off roaders, Jeep has announced a diesel engine for one of its range, Hyundai’s Sante Fe and Kia’s Sorento offer the same seating configuration options and a better looking interior in a more compact body without sacrificing room or comfort. If you want a big, proper offroader, you buy a Land Cruiser or Patrol. If you don’t need something that big and don’t ned to go offroad there’s plenty to choose from. Then there’s the dollars. The GX 2WD starts at just shy of $41000, the GXL AWD is nearly $54K and then there’s the onroad costs… As dynamically good it is for such a big vehicle, I was left wondering which round hole this peg is meant to fill.
For info: http://www.toyota.com.au/kluger/specifications/gxl-awd-7-seat-suv?WT.ac=VH_Kluger_RangeAndSpecs_RangeBanner_GXLAWD_Specs
Car: Toyota Kluger GXL AWD.
Engine: 3.5L V6.
Fuel/Tank: Unleaded, 91 RON, 72 litres.
Power/Torque: 201kW @ 6200rpm, 337Nm @ 4700rpm.
Fuel Consumption (claimed): 10.6L/100km combined, 14.4L/100km urban, 8.4L/100km highway.
Transmission: six speed automatic.
Weight: (dry) 2020kg, (gross) 2740kg.
Towing: 2000kg (braked), 700kg (unbraked).
Warranty: 3 years/100000 kilometres, whichever occurs first.
Seating: seven, third row flush with floor, middle row 60/40 split fold.
Cargo: (all seats up) 195L, (third row folded) 529L, (all folded) 1872L
Dimensions, L x W x H (mm): 4865 x 1965 x 1730.
Wheelbase (mm): 2790.
Tyres/Wheels: 245/60 on 18 inch diameter alloys.
Off road approach/departure: 18/23.1degrees.
Level 2, 9 Help Street