Classic, Vintage and Antique – How Can You Tell?
A decent slice of the driving population isn’t into new cars so much. OK, they might drive newer models to get from A to B and for general bread-and-butter driving. But when they drive for pleasure, they look to the past: to classics, vintages and antiques. Sometimes, you may hear the word “veteran” bandied about.
When we hear the word “vintage” pop into our heads, we usually get mental pictures of something with big goggly headlamps, seriously sprung upholstery, a square top and big mudguards. The Ford Model T would be a prime example. When “classic” is mentioned, mental images get a bit more fluid, with some people thinking about traditional VW Beetles and others picturing big old American numbers. Mention an “antique” car to the person on the street and he or she would probably give you a funny look.
The Road Rules…Or Does It?
Across the globe, there’s commonality now that the internet is part of our lives and we can see that commonality in road rules. Red lights and Stop signs mean stop, green means go, roundabouts confuse. Yet, in real terms, driving on our roads really isn’t that complicated, as so many seem to think. Let’s have a look at some of the more basic rules.
Indication: this is one of the simplest, yet, seemingly, most misunderstood parts of driving. Inside each vehicle, attached to the steering column, will be a stalk, with two and sometimes just one fitted. Most Australian specification vehicles will have this on the right hand side, with an increasing number haviing it on the left. When moved up or down, an amzing thing happens: there’s a ticking noise that coincides with the flashing of an amber light at the front and rear of the car. This is called indicating and is intended to show other users of the road which direction you intend to go. Under New South Wales legislation:
What is changing direction?
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?
The New Mazda MX-5: Genius Evolved
One of the biggest bits of news in the car world over the past few weeks has been the launch of the new Mazda MX-5. We’ve been teased with little bits of information for a long while now, and Mazda have been pretty secretive, as you’d expect, as to what we can look forward to. Now however, the cat is out the bag, and boy does it look good.
Level 2, 9 Help Street