Author archive
A Ford Driver’s Personal Reaction To Ford Australia’s Bad News
The bomb hit us all on Friday. Ford Australia is going to stop production altogether in 2016 and is shutting down the engine plant in Geelong and the assembly plant in Broadmeadows. I’m well aware that there are probably sound financial reasons for this move and is probably something to do with the whole global village thing, but I’m still gutted. I guess many other folk are, too, especially if they (a) were working for Ford Australia and are now out of a job and (b) were proud to drive an Aussie-made Ford.
The axe fell on Mitsubishi in Aussie five years ago. Now Ford is shutting down. How much longer are Holden and Toyota , which still have a manufacturing presence in Australia, going to be able to keep the home fires burning?
I don’t want to get into the whole political blame game thing. I’m not a political expert or an economist. I’m just a driver. I’ve been a Ford supporter for years. I got my driver’s licence in an Aussie-made Ford Falcon and I currently drive an Aussie-made Ford Fairlane (and, among other cars, I had an Aussie-made Ford Festiva in between those two). I liked the idea that I was supporting the team Down Under by choosing to drive a Ford. I liked the mental picture of the iron coming out of the Aussie mines ultimately ending up in an Aussie car factory and ending up being driven on Aussie roads – kind of like the vehicle equivalent of a farmers’ market and buying locally grown food. And I also liked the thought that it getting spare parts was a heck of a lot easier with a Ford. In fact, it was a lot easier and quicker to get the spare parts – it took my local mechanic next to no time to get a spare bit on the few times that something needed fixing on the Fords I’ve owned; when I had a Saab 9000, it took three weeks for a replacement part to arrive from Sweden, leaving me walking the kids to preschool in the middle of winter (said Saab was a great car when it was on the road, I have to add).
I suppose I’m not the only person with questions about what is going to happen now. First of all, what’s going to happen to all the workers and the community in the Geelong area now that an industry that’s been there for the best part of a century is closing down? And where are all the Fords in the world going to be made now? Are they going to be produced in some country where the workers get paid a pittance and work excruciatingly long hours in shonky conditions? What’s the knock-on economic effect going to be on the Australian economy as a whole if we’re not making as many cars locally and a larger chunk of ore is heading overseas in an unprocessed state instead of getting the value-added treatment here? Did they actually export many of the Fords made here in the first place (well, they sent a few across the ditch to New Zealand, but anywhere else?)?
However, a Reuters article reports that Ford USA is increasing production and is shortening its usual two-week summer shut-down from two weeks to one week to meet demand, as well as creating more jobs. Guess where the spare parts for your Ford might be coming from (I’m just guessing, too – some might be made by local folk (fingers crossed)).
And I have a question for myself: will my past loyalty to the blue oval override my support for local industry, or will I have a long, hard think about whether my next set of wheels should be a Holden?
Safety First
Who’s the leading car manufacturer when it comes to safety? Volvo has to be the obvious answer, as they are amazing at coming up with ingenious ideas for not only keeping passengers safe but pedestrians as well. But here’s another world first from Volvo. Doug Speck, Senior Vice President Marketing, Sales and Customer Service at Volvo Car Group, introduced another trailblazing safety feature that is able to distinguish and detect a cyclist and then automatically brake for any cyclists that swerve out in front of the car. Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection with full auto brake consists of a radar unit that sits unified with the car’s grille, a camera that is fitted in front of the interior rear-view mirror and a central control unit. The camera defines the type of object in front of the car, and its high-resolution makes it possible to spot the moving pattern of pedestrians and cyclists. The radar has been designed to detect objects in front of the car while calculating the distance that remains between the car and the object. All information from the radar and camera are sent to the central control unit which continuously monitors and evaluates the current traffic state.
The Volvo team have enhanced the present detection and auto brake technology which is used in many new cars, today. Volvo have called their cycle detection and response system: the Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection with full auto brake. All new Volvo cars will become equipped with pedestrian detection that incorporates this new cyclist detection technology.
Research has shown that about 50 per cent of all cyclists that are killed in Europe have collided with a car. It’s exciting to see how valuable and how massive this new safety feature will help save cyclists lives.
Volvo states that the Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection with full auto brake will be available in the new Volvo V40, S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80 models in the second half of this year.
What’s In A Name?
In a few of my posts, I’ve burbled on about the various names that get given to the models of cars – the good, the bad and the potential. However, what about the names of the actual marques themselves? Sometimes, the reasons behind these are more interesting than you think.
Some marques, of course, are simply based on the name of the founder – Ford and Porsche, for example. Others are a bit more creative than that. Persian deities, cartoon characters, samurai insignia and Latin phrases have all done their bit. Some of my favourite “stories behind the name” are the following:
Mercedes-Benz: The “Benz” bit comes from Karl Benz (the man who also gave his name to benzine and who first patented the automobile) and is rather straightforward but the Mercedes bit is more interesting. Apparently, there was a very early race car driver and board member of the Daimler-Benz company by the name of Emil Jellinek who ordered a line of vehicles from the Daimler-Benz company and gave the cars his daughter’s nickname: Mercedes, rather in the tradition of naming ships after women. The Mercedes Benz cars did very well in the racing circuit and did much to popularize the brand, so the name was kept on for luck, especially after Daimler had given his name to another luxury line.
Toyota: Originally “Toyoda” but the D was changed to a T, as T was a luckier letter in the Japanese system of letters and numerology – it takes eight brush strokes to make and eight is a lucky number.
Mitsubishi: This literally means “three water chestnuts” or “three diamonds”, which was part of the family crest of the founder, Iwasaki Yatarō, a man of samurai descent.
Jeep: Popular legend has it that this name came about pretty much the same way as Humvee did – the initials GP (standing for General Purpose) got clipped down for everyday military use to “Jeep”. Other explanations have been given, including a character from early Popeye cartoons named Eugene the Jeep. In these cartoons (which came out well before World War 2 when the Jeep was developed for military purposes), a Jeep is a dog-like creature that is able to go anywhere, including into other dimensions. The vehicle seemed to have similar powers and hence the nickname.
Audi: This is based on the name of the founder, August Horch. Horch had founded one company and had then been kicked out of it. When developing his new car manufacturing company, he was scratching around for a good name for it, as he couldn’t use his own name. His son was studying Latin at the time and suggested that seeing as Horch was the German for “Listen”, why not translate the surname into Latin, which would be “Audi”? Problem solved.
Volvo: Another name taken from Latin, this time meaning “I roll.” It was chosen because the company originally made ball bearings.
Fiat: A nice little double meaning here. It’s the initials of the Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) but also means “let it be”. “Fiat” was/is also a technical term used to indicate a decree that has been handed out by a higher power that must be carried out – that higher power being God, the Pope or the Government. “Fiat” was also supposed to be used by magicians to complete spells.
Mazda: This name was chosen because it sort of sounded like the name of the founder, Jujiro Matsuda and it was also the name of an ancient Persian god worshipped by the Zoroastrians (full name: Ahura Mazda). The symbol of Ahura-Mazda is the faravahar, which is a combination of the sun and eagle’s wings. Take a careful look at the logo of Mazda car, and you’ll see the circle and the wings still there. Other cars with divine names included the Jowett Jupiter, the Citroën Dyane (after Diana, the moon goddess) and the small Greek SUV marque Hercules.
Subaru: Fuji Heavy Industries wanted a name that reflected the companies that merged to form the one big company that had a touch of poetry to it. So they picked the Japanese name for the constellation of the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters – a linked group of bright stars. You’ll see the constellation on the Subaru logo – except it’s the way up that Japan in the Northern Hemisphere sees it, rather than the way you can see it on a nice clear summer night with a pair of good binoculars down here.
Make Your Own Car Cleaning Products
We’ve all heard about the drive towards more environmentally friendly motoring. Hybrid vehicles seem to be coming onto the market left, right and centre, and (as I’ve mentioned in earlier posts), fuel economy figures are getting just as much attention as power and torque figures in car reviews these days.
But what about the other aspects of car ownership? Going green goes way beyond buying a nice shiny new Nissan Leaf or some other hybrid or electric vehicle. It goes beyond using ethanol blends (which come from a sustainable and renewable source) or biodiesel (ditto) to power your vehicle. It also applies when it comes to keeping that new vehicle shiny.
A lot of commercial car cleaning products contain a lot of fairly ferocious chemicals. These have a number of environmental problems associated with them. First up, there’s making them. If it’s made here in Australia, it probably has to comply with all sorts of regulations regarding emissions, so that’s OK, but if it gets made in some third-world country, the factory could be a bit dodgy for the environment. Next comes using the stuff. Some car cleaning products can be pretty rough on your skin or on your lungs. And last of all comes disposal – all that stuff goes into the water system and can take quite some time breaking down.
So making your own out of natural cleaning bits and pieces can be a good option. They can save you a couple of cents, into the bargain. A couple of recipes are given below:
Car body wash
- 1 cup soap gel (make by dissolving old bits of soap in boiling water and letting it cool – it makes a goopy sort of sludge)
- ½ cup baking soda or washing soda
- bucket of warm water
Dissolve the soap gel and the washing/baking soda in the water. Apply to the car body with a soft brush. Rinse off with plain water. This is a mild wash that gets the grub off but doesn’t hurt the wax or the paint – or your hands.
Window and glass cleaner
- 1 cup ordinary white vinegar
- 1 cup of plain water (preferably unchlorinated)
Shake together and spray onto the glass with a soft cloth (e.g. an old towel or a tatty old T-shirt). Buff off with another soft cloth.
Tar remover
- Cooking oil (any sort)
Tar is oil-based, and any good oil will soften it enough for you to be able to pick and peel it off the paintwork very, very gently, or scrub it off with an old toothbrush. If the tar is very old or stubborn, a little kerosene should do the trick, with the emphasis on “little” or you’ll wreak havoc with the paint.
Homemade wax (for enthusiasts only)
- 2 cups carnauba wax (found in some auto and hardware stores – look carefully or ask one of the sales staff)
- 2 cups beeswax
- ½ cup vegetable oil (olive, linseed, etc.)
Melt the waxes in the oil in a double boiler. While it’s still hot, pour it into a suitable tin or container ready for use. Then use as normal. It’s not tinted, but it will do. Carnuba wax is derived from a Brazilian palm tree and is the basis of a lot of commercial car waxes – make that most of them.
You could also give a microfibre cloth a go (e.g. an Enjo cloth). These are great if you are on water restrictions, as you only need enough water to get the cloth damp. The wee fibres get into those microscopic cracks in the paintwork (yep, they’re there) and grab the dirt. Because you don’t use any product, there’s no residue left behind, so the paintwork doesn’t go streaky.
Level 2, 9 Help Street