Old Features We’re Happy (Or Maybe Not) to Say Goodbye To

A topic we were talking about the other day was about how the features in the cars we drive today differ from the cars of yesteryear.  It was interesting discussing this subject because it made us more thankful for the newer vehicles that we can drive on the road.  I love classic cars, even cars that were built a couple of decades ago, still believing that there is a place for them on our roads – especially with one or two upgrades that can be carried out on a classic, thus making them fit for today’s purpose.  Here are just a few of the features that were raised:

Cigarette Lighters

A definite feature that we were happy to say goodbye to was the smelly old cigarette lighters, and their companion ash trays which inevitably broke or popped out of their position while travelling.  And what about the burn holes in the seat fabric, the stains, and the stale cigarette smoke smell that got into all the interior fabric of the car?  Saying goodbye to smoking inside cars is a feature that can stay dead and gone in my book.  Vaping isn’t that much healthier either as they add more and more chemicals to the vape.  Just thinking about the health issues that arise with inhaled cigarette smoke in a confined space – let alone for the person who does the lighting up – is enough for me to say “Good riddance”!

Manual Heating and Cooling System

Older cars had simpler manual switches and dials for heating up or cooling down the interior.  I have to say that these work pretty well when combined with a nicely positioned open window and howling fans.  That said, you could only cool the interior down to what temperature the air outside happened to be, so when the temperature soared to over 30°C, at best, this might be what you could cool the cabin down too.  However, old school heating systems still heated up a cold cabin very easily – on most cars anyway –when heat from the engine could be blasted neatly through to the occupants inside the cabin area.  Old systems are usually less expensive and easier to fix if they do go wrong – like when the fan unit wears out or the vents get blocked.  That said, a cold air conditioning system blowing sweet icy-cold air into a cabin on a sweltering hot day is exceptionally nice and hard to beat!

ABS and ESC

The laws of physics can’t be messed with.  Even a brand new car still has four wheels which can only grip onto the road as much as the pad of rubber that is in contact with the road will allow.  Yes, the fancy ABS and ESC systems are awesome and definitely help save lives, especially in the wet, yet once these systems fail what happens next?

Power steering

Love this one!

Tape deck/CD players

Tapes did have a habit of getting chewed up in the head unit, especially when the favourite songs were played over and over again!  I still like a good CD player.  CD players work really well up until the little laser wears out as or the CD gets far too scratched because it was left on the floor of the car for two months with people accidentally stomping on it, before being rediscovered on car cleaning day.

Alternative Power for Motoring

Electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles, bio-fuelled vehicles, solar-powered vehicles, and they all have their place on the roads.  The thing I like the most about them is that they lower poisonous emissions like carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides in a congested city environment.  We all like to breathe clean air.  Introduce them gradually, in a way that’s environmentally and ethically sustainable, and affordable for people to buy.  Batteries still need lots of resources to make them, and cars aren’t the only things consuming precious metal for all the electronics and battery sysems.  The tech for capturing harmful emissions from fossil fuels has also improved massively as well.  Classic cars aren’t that hard to convert over to electric, and this could be encouraged and be much less expensive to do, not to mention sustainable.

Safety Ratings

Car safety ratings have improved out of this world!  Thanks to the ongoing work and input of engineers and research, a modern day car is miles safer than an old one – especially if involved in a major accident.  I’m always going to be thankful for seatbelts, airbags, crumple zones, more safety cage rigidity, and crumple zones.  Buy a decent new car today, and it will come fully kitted out with all the latest active accident avoidance technology to keep you (the driver or passenger) safe as well as the other road user(s) around you at the time.

Book Maps

I still love a good paper map in booklet form.  There is something about navigating old school that appeals to the challenge and satisfaction of getting yourself A to B while map-reading.  There is more satisfaction gained by being involved rather than passively letting the GPS do all the work for you.

What have I missed?

Carbon Fibre’s use in Cars

It may come as no surprise to you that the amazingly strong and lightweight material – carbon fibre – has been used in some of the high-end sports cars and racing cars.  Cars like the Koenigsegg Agera, the McLaren Senna, Porsche’s 918 Spyder, the Ferrari LaFerrari, Alfa Romeo’s 4C, and BMW’s i8 use a carbon-fibre monocoque body shell in their design.  Even BMW’s recent i3 EV city car boasts a carbon-fibre monocoque cell.

BMW i3

Of course, there are many pieces that make up a car’s whole, many of which there are components which can also be made up of carbon fibre, and these are actually more prevalent in different forms and measures throughout the motoring industry, particularly in high-end luxury cars.  In some of BMW’s and Porsche’s latest premium cars, carbon fibre has been introduced in various arrangements within the vehicles’ body components.  Obviously, the rarer the part, then it will have quite an expensive price tag attached.

Then there are multiple smaller workshops and larger businesses dedicated to creating special automobile parts and designs made from the composite material carbon fibre.  Some of these components might be a certain air diffuser or spoiler to make the car look more aggressive or more aerodynamic.  Some of these businesses even make carbon fibre interior wraps with a distinctive pattern to make an individual’s car stand out from the crowd.

So, what is carbon fibre?

A quick science lesson first to help us understand: Carbon is number six on the periodic table, and so the carbon atom consists of 6 protons, 6 neutrons, and 6 electrons.  Two of the 6 electrons fill up an electron shell close to the carbon atom’s nucleus, while the other four electrons sit in a half empty electron shell around the outside.  These electrons running about on the outside shell are known as valence electrons and are the key to carbon’s amazing and incredible properties.  Any electrons in an atom’s outer shell are involved in taking part in forming chemical bonds.  How many bonds these electrons are involved with depend on how much room there is in the outside shell.  What makes carbon so amazing is that it has got space for four other electrons to make its outer shell full.  This attribute makes carbon a four-way connector that can link atoms together.

A polymer is any material that is made of long, repeating chains of molecules.  So, carbon can build up straight chains of carbon atoms, carbon chains with branches, and even carbon chains that are joined end to end to make loops!  So, a carbon polymer is made up of chains and chains of carbon molecules that are linked up in a scaffolding-type structure.  Carbon can bond to itself, but, when it doesn’t, the end of the carbon chains can terminate with other elemental atoms.  For example, a carbon chain can finish up with a small hydrogen atom, which makes these chains slippery like in oils.  Carbon chains can also connect to other groups of elements, making them a specific ‘functional group’, each group having a different chemical property.

Graphite is a crystalline form of the carbon element.  Individual layers of graphite are some of the strongest structures that we know about in the universe.  Carbon fibre material is made up of individual layers of graphite, which on their own are quite slippery.  Carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites (also known as carbon-fibre laminates) are made up of woven layers of nearly pure carbon fibres that are bonded together by a hardened plastic like an epoxy resin. CFRP composites are therefore extremely strong and stiff.

A stretched carbon fibre is up to five times the strength of steel, as durable as steel, but only a quarter of steel’s density.  Being this strong and much less dense than steel makes carbon fibre a lighter and stronger material than steel.  On top of being extremely strong and lightweight, carbon fibre is also high in chemical resistance, has a high stiffness, has low thermal expansion, has a low weight to strength ratio, and is tolerant of excessive heat.  These are the reasons why carbon fibre is so sought after in the motor racing arena and in high-grade luxury sports vehicles?  These amazing properties make carbon fibre a very popular material for use in aerospace, military, recreational, as well as in automotive industry applications.

As CFRPs become more readily available, the trickle down effect will see it being more and more a part of a new mainstream motor vehicle, EVs included.

Travelling with a Roof-Top Tent

Got your trusty Outback or Forester, maybe a Patrol or even a new Cherokee?  Then you’re likely ready for a bit of an adventure!  Haven’t we got the country just for you?  Australia is filled with many wonderful things to see, places to explore, and amazing wildlife and flora to enjoy.  It’s surprising how many decent vehicles we can actually use to get around Australia; space and practicality being the main factors contributing to the type of vehicle we end up using.

Of course, the other factor will be how 4x4ish and AWDish you’ll want/need the vehicle to be – because the further you go off-road, then the more likely you’ll be driving an SUV with 4WD ability or even a true blue 4×4 brute to get you anywhere.

Next question I’d be asking would be: Will you want to be staying in motels and B&Bs, towing a caravan, or staying in a tent?  If you want to ditch the vacancy/no-vacancy signs for a lot more freedom and a lower price tag, then caravanning and tenting are very decent options.

What I wanted to focus attention on was the types of tents that can be mounted on the roof of a vehicle.  Roof-top tents are a means of accommodation that are great while you’re on the move around Australia.  They keep you up off the ground and away from the creepy crawlies, or at least minimalizing their access!  A pop-top roof tent is a neat and inexpensive way of giving you your sleeping space while travelling around Australia.

Some of the advantages of having a roof top tent include:

You can camp in as many places as your vehicle can take you – think off-road and a rugged 4×4 vehicle!

The roof-top tent is usually designed to be fast and easy set up and store away at a campsite.  Usually, they can take as little as 1 – 5 minutes to set up.  This is a brief!

The roof-top tent is off the ground, thus keeping you off the wet ground and mud, and away from insects, snakes, and other animals.

Many pop out roof-tents are designed with the mattress already included in the fold out design.  This makes camping life even easier.

The biggest disadvantages of a fold out roof tent would include:

Older folk may struggle getting in and out of the tent via the ladder.

The tent’s maximum body capacity and height are limited, so there’s no way for you to stand up to your full height.  You also won’t be able to hold a party of any great number inside.

Lifting the tent to the roof of the car can be a little more challenging depending on the set-up and weight involved.

Unfortunately, not every vehicle is made for carrying a hefty weight on the roof, and some simply cannot handle the additional weight.  As a general rule of thumb, your car should have cargo racks and be able to withstand at least 80–100 kg of weight. They should accommodate for the weight of your tent and everyone inside.  However, if you’re thinking of buying a four-person roof top tent, you’ll need a sturdier SUV or a pickup truck/ute.  Some sedans and town cars may be able to handle one- or two-person pop-top roof tents.

Roof-top tents have been an Australia thing for many, many decades, but the first one was invented between 1957 and 1958 by Giuseppe Dionisio.  Roof top tents are now available right around the world, and the variety of roof-top tent models is staggering.

For your first ever roof top tent experience, a softshell tent might be the best choice.  It is lighter, cheaper, and more familiar to most people for setting up at a campsite. However, if you’re ready to go all in and have the money to spare, a hard shell roof top tent is a more luxurious (and usually more convenient) option.

Thule and Kings roof-top tents would be a great place to start if you want to take a look and try out the camping lifestyle with a view.  Camping life with a bit of freedom is hard to beat!

Young Drivers

Safety Tips for Young Drivers.

• Get supervised driving experience in all types of weather conditions and road surfaces (clear weather, dawn/dusk, rain, high winds, dust, gravel, hill climbs, descents, etc.).
• Get someone who is an experienced driver to supervise you lots while driving town/city rush hour traffic, around roundabouts, out on the motorway, changing lanes, urban and rural driving. etc. Don’t just practise in an urban area, make sure you get experience driving on all types of roads with a confident driver alongside to guide you as and when you may need it.
• Be courteous when driving and think of other road users.
• Look as far ahead as possible, and not just at the taillights of the car in front of you, which is how nose-to-tail accidents happen.
• Put your phone away when you’re driving, or at least where you can’t see or reach for it. Driver distraction is a leading cause of crashes.
• Don’t let passengers push you beyond your comfort zone. It’s your responsibility as the driver to stay alert, ensure how safe is safe for you, the safety of yourself, the safety of passengers, and the safety of others while driving.
• When choosing a car, look for solid cars with technology like ABS, airbags, and pre-tensioning seatbelts.
• Get a car with great visibility about the car.
• Parents, family members, and those with driving experience should supervise you (the young driver/learner) as much as possible.

As a parent or guardian, let your young learners drive, even if it’s just for short distances each time. It is so important to help them get experience behind the wheel while being supervised as much as is possible and practical.

In 2008, OECD data revealed that the United Kingdom (UK) had the lowest fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres travelled when compared with other countries who were OECD members.  In this survey, the graphed data showed Australia as being 9th out of the 13 countries involved in the survey.  Where the UK had 4.9 fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres travelled, Australia had 6.9.  Denmark held the highest with 8.22.

Recently, Top Tests, UK, revealed data on various driving statistics.  Top Test’s 2018 data showed that drivers aged 16–19 were still 38% more likely to be killed or seriously injured than drivers aged 40–49, and drivers aged 20–29 were 65% more likely to be killed or seriously injured than drivers aged 40–49.  When 1000 drivers were quizzed in 2018, Top Tests found that 42% of the drivers aged 18–34 admitted to experiencing road rage at least once a week, and 14% of younger drivers experienced road rage every day that they drove.  (Source: https://toptests.co.uk/driving-statistics/)

Across the ditch in NZ, AMI insurance claims data reveal that drivers under the age of 25-years old are most at risk of having an accident.  In the United State, motor vehicle crashes are the second leading cause of death for U.S. teens.  Here in Australia, the government has kept a close eye on road statistics as well, and rightly so.  According to 2021 reports, there were a total of 1133 road fatalities for the 2021 year, where speeding remained the top cause of accidents; this was followed by driver distraction, and then driver fatigue.  Those aged 17 – 25 year old were the second-highest age bracket impacted by road deaths.  The 40 – 64 age group had the most road accident deaths, however it was young men who were more likely to be involved in a crash.

By March this year (2022), New South Wales had recorded the most fatal road accidents for the year (25), an increase from 2021 with (19). Queensland followed (20), Victoria (18), Western Australia (15), South Australia (7), Tasmania (6), Northern Territory (3), and the Australian Capital Territory (0)

Whether it’s travelling too fast for the conditions, using smartphones, vaping or smoking, eating, applying makeup, checking the texts – all while driving – these are the leading causes for road fatalities on Australian roads.  Driving while fatigued and, of course, drink driving or driving under the influence of some drug also causes road fatalities.

It’s sad that anyone should die, however it is the young drivers that are the top culprits for using their mobile phones while they are driving, which leads to serious and tragic accidents.  In Australia, 18 – 24 and 25 – 39 age groups reported the highest application of using mobile phones while driving.  18 – 24 year old drivers are twice as likely to receive a speeding fine.

Hamish Piercy, Fleet Risk Manager for AMI, and former New Zealand Police Officer with the serious crash unit, has over 33 years of crash investigation experience.  Hamish was unsurprised that, in New Zealand, AMI received such a high number of claims for drivers under the age of 25.  He commented: “There are a lot of great young drivers out there, and some excellent driver education programmes, but these statistics show that we can’t be complacent when it comes to driver safety. It’s an unavoidable fact that to gain experience, you have to drive. So, as a society we need to look at how we can enable that in safe ways.”

If possible, try to enrol your young family member that’s embarking on getting a driver’s license to run through a local driver training course.  Good driving courses will focus on key areas like core driving skills, reading the road ahead, distraction, inattention, and speed.  Courses that can impart crucial driving skills will enable your youngster to gain confidence, gain good driving skills and driving habits, and get plenty of positive encouragement.  These are all essential for getting out on the road to drive as safely as possible.

Safe driving everyone!