Tesla Confirms U.S. Model 3 Milestone
Elon Musk and Tesla have announced that the much talked about Model 3 (with a still as yet unknown Australian sale date) will now be available in the United States for a barrier breaking US$35,000. A change of name has been added, and Tesla offers the Standard range and Standard Range Plus. Deliveries will start within weeks.
Tesla preempted the announcement by stopping orders, before reopening the system with the two variants being listed. The Standard Range Plus will add an extra US$2,000 to the hip pocket hit. What a buyer will get is either 355 kilometres or 386 kilometres of range, 0 to 96 km/h (0 to 60mph) of either 5.6 seconds or 5.3 seconds, and either 210 km/h or 225km/h for top speeds.
It won’t be far off the same overall size as the Model S; it’s 4694mm in length, sits on a 2875mm wheelbase, and is 1933mm wide with the wing mirrors folded. Front and rear track is 1580mm.
Mazda3 Hatch And Sedan Go Uncluttered For 2019.
Mazda has gone deep into its Kodo: Soul of Motion design language for its forthcoming Next-Gen Mazda3. For sedan and hatch, Mazda3 has been given a complete reskin and separately. There are just two panels that are shared between them. A standout in the hatch design is the striking and solid C pillar that wraps around from the lowest section of the rear bumper to form a seamless curve through to the A pillar.
The sedan is a beautifully sculpted exhibition of smooth, flowing, almost waterfall like, sheetmetal in contrast and perhaps does a better job of defining Kodo. Low slung, it empahasises muscular haunches and wide, sporty profile.
Mazda have given the hatch a little extra to help it stand out further. It’s coated in a unique body colour offering called Polymetal Grey Metallic. This gives glossy smoothness over the hard appearance of metal.
Private Fleet Car Review: 2019 Holden Acadia LTZ-V
This Car Review Is About:
The 2019 model year Holden Acadia LTZ-V. The engine of choice is a 3.6L petrol V6, and the transmission is a nine speed automatic. There are three levels, being the LT, LTZ, and LTZ-V, with two or all wheel drive. Prices start from $42,990 driveaway with the top range a substantial $67,990. That’s for 2018 plated cars.
Under The Bonnet Is:
The more or less same driveline as found in the unfairly maligned Commodore. A V6, petrol fed, of a 3.6L capacity. That drives the front wheels via a truly superb nine speed automatic. Consumption is rated as 8.9L per 100 kilometres on a combined cycle. We finished on 11.2L/100km on a mainly urban cycle. Peak power is 231 kilowatts, with peak twist of 367Nm coming in at 5000rpm. Make a note of those figures.
It’s a keyless start, as expected. The engine itself is almost noiseless from inside, both on idle and underway in normal driving. Like all engines, push it and you’ll hear it. Even then it’s not the most aurally engaging engine going.
Being the AWD version means a selector dial is fitted in the rather staid looking centre console. Choices are Snow, Towing, and the ubiquitous Sport. Sport was trialled and discarded as being needed rarely.
Should You Buy Your Teen A Safe Car?
I recently came across a couple of articles that had been inspired by some research put out by the British Medical Journal’s Injury Prevention* . This research looked at the type, size and style of cars driven by teenagers who were killed in car accidents over 2008–2012, and ended with a recommendation that “Parents should consider safety when choosing vehicles for their teenagers.” Automotive bloggers seemed to break out with the advice that parents should buy cars for their teenagers that had absolutely every safety feature, active and passive, under the sun.
Now, I am the parent of teenagers and young adults, both of whom drive. I know that heartwrenching feeling when you know that your beloved son or daughter is heading out solo onto the roads, where horrible things can happen. I’ve also had two of those phone calls that begin “Hi Mum, I’m all right but the car…” (In both these cases, the car in question was owned by the teenager in question.) I would be the last person to be reckless and to advocate putting your teenager in a tinny little piece of aluminium. Nevertheless, I’ve got one or two issues with those articles that other automotive bloggers have put out.
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