Building Beasts Through Biomimicry
Inspired by a fish
Right from the beginning of automotive history, car makers have named their creations after animals. The reasoning behind this is simple: by giving the vehicle the name of a creature that’s fast, powerful, graceful or dangerous, the user will, at least subconsciously, feel that the vehicle shares those attributes. We want our cars to have the sheer speed of the peregrine falcon (top speed in a stoop = over 300 km/h, which is faster than what your common or garden Aussie Ford Falcon can do) or the aggression of a bighorn ram (Dodge) or the agility and elegance of a jaguar.
Mitsubishi Levels Up With Outlander.
Mitsubishi have released details of updates to their popular Outlander. The stylish SUV has been updated to deliver a more refined and functional vehicle with a number of specification changes across the range.
The new exterior includes a monotone 18 inch alloy wheel for the ES model, along with a black cloth trim, with piano black door and dash trims. Mid-spec LS models have a microsuede seat trim with synthetic leather bolsters, with piano black and silver pinstripe door & dash trims. The top of the range Exceed models have black leather trim, with carbon fibre design and silver pinstripe door & dash trims. Also for 2020, the Exceed incorporates the latest generation of Mitsubishi’s Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC) system with active yaw technology. This incorporates a choice of driving modes, which are Eco, Normal, Snow and now incorporates Gravel.
Safety technology has been given a wave of the magic wand. The ES 2.4L model has been given Forward Collision Mitigation as standard, along with rain sensing wipers, dusk sensing headlamps and auto dimming for the rear view mirror. In the Exceed model, the Outlander is the first model in the Mitsubishi range to display speed limit information in multi-information display sourcing data from the navigation app.
5 Ways Car Makers Reduce Price Competition
It’s a murky world the Australian automotive industry. Always has been and probably always will be. When big, emotional purchases are on the table and there’s a complicated system of sales distribution, it’s always going to be difficult for the consumer to work out what’s a good deal.
The ‘problem’ is you can only buy a new car from an official new car dealership, licensed by the manufacturer. Unlike almost any other product there aren’t new car resellers, independent distributors or outlets. The actual purchase must always take place at a dealership and that dealership must be bound by conditions and obligations bound by the carmaker. This means the manufacturer is in a unique position to influence the sales process and therefore the competition.
2019 Nissan Qashqai ST – Car Review.
This Car Review Is About: Nissan’s entry level vehicle in the Qashqai range, the ST five door small/medium SUV.
What Does It Cost?: Nissan’s website indicates a driveaway price of $26,990 for the manual. The auto is $2,000 more.
Under The Bonnet Is: A 2.0L petrol engine and CVT, or Constant Variable Transmission driving the front wheels. There are 106kW and 200Nm to be found which doesn’t read as a great deal. However, the Qashqai isn’t a big or heavy car at 1,375kg (dry) and the CVT is well enough sorted that it makes a good fist of what the engine can deliver. In our 60/40 urban to highway drive, economy finished on a final figure of 7.1L/100km, not far off the rated 6.9L/100km. The range estimator and driven distance combined to say there was a theoretical distance of over 800km from the 65L tank.
On The Inside It’s: A not unpleasant place to be. Seats are manual for adjustment and covered in a easy to maintain fabric. Legroom for front and rear seat passengers are better than adequate, even with the fronts rolled back. Rear cargo space is rated at 430L and 1,598L with seats down, meaning it’s a family friendly vehicle.
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