Bad Driving Habits That Press Your Buttons
In my last post, I discussed road rage and how to avoid it. Now, in any discussion of road rage, there are two sides to the story, if not more. For nearly every incident of road rage (but not all of them), there has probably been a bad driving habit that has triggered it.
Some things really press other people’s buttons more than others. The ultimate way to avoid road rage, therefore, is to avoid these bad habits. Recently, I came across a survey from the UK that listed the ten most annoying driving habits that get other drivers steaming hot under the collar. I’m not sure how many of these ones are just as annoying here Down Under but most of them will be.
Classic Cars: HDT VK "Blue Meanie".
A certain bank has a singer reciting the refrain “Three Little Letters”. There’s three little letters that resonate with fans of Australian motorsport; they are H D T, Holden Dealer Team. The origin of this goes back to the late 1960s, with the legendary Harry Firth putting together a team of star racing drivers. Amongst them was a young bloke by the name of Peter Geoffrey Brock.Fast forward to the late 1970s and Holden have released their new car, called Commodore. The first model was the VB, followed by the VC, in 1980. As part of a deal organised by Brock in order to get solid finanical backing, he’d agreed to put his name to smartened up versions of the VC and thus was HDT SV (Special Vehicles) born.
In 1984, the VK Commodore was released; marketed as a world class car, it became the basis for what has become, possibly, the most famous car from the HDT factory. Australia had moved to follow the international Group A motorsport classification and Brock’s magic wand was about to be waved over the VK. A process called homologation was in place, effectively a way of showing that cars that could be raced were to be sold to the public and not specifically developed just for racing; with 500 needing to be sold the HDT team swung into action. The venerable Holden 5.0L (308 cubic inches) was, under Group A regulations, destroked to 304ci (4987cc), a body kit was bolted on, consisting of a deep front air dam, side skirts, huge rear spoiler, “letterbox” grille and silver or white painted aero wheels with the car itself based on the SS model available. The engine pumped out a decent, at the time, 196kW and had a massive 418Nm of torque at a usable 3600 revs, breathing through a HDT specific cold air intake and a Rochester 4 barrel carbie mounted on a port matched intake manifold. Power was put down through the rear tyres 
via a four speed M21 manual transmission and single plate dry clutch however a five speed was optional. Bridgestone supplied the rubber, their Potenza 225/50s on those luscious 16 inch diameter wheels and the car rode on the tried and proven McPherson struts/Panhard rod suspension. Stopping power was provided courtesy of the 281mm discs, vented at the front. The colour that would be the seed for the car’s now legendary status, Formula Blue, coated the VK’s flanks and close to thirty years after it was released, still looks fantastic. SS Group A decals, complete with the Brock signature, were placed on the front quarter panels and badges were placed inside confirming that your car was, indeed, one of the (in this case) 502 built.
Calm the Farm: Avoiding Road Rage
Road rage is hardly a new phenomenon. Losing one’s temper and exploding at some dimwit who has got in the way of your means of transport doesn’t just pre-date the horseless carriage – it predates the steam engine, sprung suspension and four-wheeled forms of transport. Yep, back when horse- and ox-drawn carts had only two wheels and rivers were the best form of rapid transport, they had road rage. Or, more accurately, river rage. There is an Egyptian tomb painting showing two boatmen having a scrap, presumably after one has cut the other off or rammed the other. Archaeologists translated the hieroglyphics in speech bubbles and found that one of the boatmen is yelling “Take that, you f***er!” at the other.
OK, so it’s human nature to get annoyed when somebody just about takes you out because they were not looking when they were going. However, the authorities these days take a stricter view of having a transport-related punch-up compared to the ancient Egyptians, so how do you avoid road rage?
Lamborghini Huracán Ready To Storm Australian East Coast.
One of the world’s newest supercars is getting ready to storm into Australia’s east coast showrooms with the impending launch of the Lamborghini Huracán 610-4. Heading to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, potentially in September (exact dates unconfirmed at time of writing) the 448kW/560Nm 5.2L V10 engined brute features a seven speed transmission, a carbon fibre/aluminuim chassis and rolls on elegant 20 inch diameter, ten spoke, alloys, clad in 245/30 front and massive 305/30 rear Pirelli tyres, specifically and specially designed and engineered for the 325 km/h beast. The name comes from the horsepower figure, 610, and all four corners providing drive. Peak power is seen at a stratospheric 8250 revs and torque at 6500rpm.
Central to the Lamborghini Huracán’s imposing look is the wedge design, with the height almost exactly half of the car’s width. It’s 2236mm in overall width, stands just 1165mm tall and is a lithe 4459mm in length. It’s a compact wheelbase at 2620mm and has a broad track at the front, at 1668mm whilst the rear, thanks to the huge rubber, is just 1620mm. All up weight is a sneeze over 1420 kg, allowing a horsepower to weight ratio of just 2.33 kilos per pony. Sipping an average of just 12.5L of fuel per 100 kilometres from the 80 litre tank, the Huracán will power to 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds on its way to 200 klicks in 9.9 seconds. It’s also Euro6 emissions compliant at 290 grams CO2 per km, with the engine breathing out through four catalytic converters and powers all four paws via a 7-speed LDF dual-clutch transmission, with a slightly uneven weight balance of 42% front to 58% rear. The electrically assisted steering (optionable for Lamborghini Dynamic Steering for a more racing like feel) helps the Huracán turn in 11.2 metres. The two seater interior has body snuggling seats, with the driver facing a digital dashboard and stitched leather console. Externally, the good looks continue with a clear panel showing off the powerplant nestled behind the passenger cell.
The Huracán takes over from the mega successful Gallardo, with 14022 units produced over a decade and covers half of all Lamborghinis sold since the company was founded in 1963. In keeping with the famous tradition, the Huracán draws upon bullfighting, in this instance, going back to 1879 and a bull of the Spanish Conte de la Patilla breeding.
Sebastien Henry, head of Lamborghini Automobilia for the South East Asian and Pacific regions, said ahead of the Australian launch: “”We are very proud to officially launch the new Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4 here in Australia. Automobili Lamborghini continues to set new benchmarks in the luxury super sports car industry with its pure and cutting edge technology, and we expect the Huracán to be well received in this country.” Perth, in Western Australia, already has a showroom. Australians, being a tech savvy lot, will appreciate the all LED lighting externally, a first for a supercar and the design feature of a single line, in silhouette, from the windscreen over the passenger cell to the rear, passing the side mounted engine air intakes. Apart from hi-tech chassis, buyers will also get a bonded aluminuim and composite structure, carbon ceramic brakes discs with a pizza platter sized 380mm disc at the front and 356mm at the rear.
Pricewise, Lamborghini offers to lighten your wallet to the tune of $428,000 plus on roads and government charges, with three years warranty and unlimited kilometres attached to a 12 year anti-corrosion warranty. Orders are and will be taken via all four showrooms when they open on the east coast. For more information head across to www.lamborghini.com.
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