Make Your Own Car Cleaning Products
We’ve all heard about the drive towards more environmentally friendly motoring. Hybrid vehicles seem to be coming onto the market left, right and centre, and (as I’ve mentioned in earlier posts), fuel economy figures are getting just as much attention as power and torque figures in car reviews these days.
But what about the other aspects of car ownership? Going green goes way beyond buying a nice shiny new Nissan Leaf or some other hybrid or electric vehicle. It goes beyond using ethanol blends (which come from a sustainable and renewable source) or biodiesel (ditto) to power your vehicle. It also applies when it comes to keeping that new vehicle shiny.
Holden's Triple S Barina; Smart, Small, Slow.
Much like a birthday sneaking up on you, it’s a bit of a shock to realise that the Barina nameplate has been around for nigh on thirty years. Coming from a variety of manufacturers such as Suzuki and Opel, the current model is brought in from Korea. The current model has a two level strategy, the Spark being an “entry level: and the slightly bigger version sedan and hatch, CD and CDX. The main seller is the hatch, with a 1.6 litre petrol engine and six speed automatic transmission with electronic manual shifting, via a toggle button on the gear lever. There is a five speed manual option. I say option as most of these will be sold with the auto. Sadly. More on that later…
The CDX tested comes with Holden’s new MyLink system (http://www.holden.com.au/vehicles/barina/interior) 
allowing you to connect to Apple’s Siri voice assistant, Pandora internet based radio and more. It’s smart and fun and looks good on the seven inch touch screen. The driver’s dash view is of a motorcycle style readout (highlighted in electric blue at night time) whilst the layout is clean and simple to use. The heated leather wrapped front seats are ok in side and back support but would be a little lacking in comfort for a long drive. Bearing in mind it’s a city car long drives are not its forte. Nor is calling it a five seater a wise thing, unless the rear seat is populated by dolls. It’s a small car, just on four metres total length for the hatch (the sedan is slightly longer) whilst interior front shoulder room is 1360mm, giving more weight to a rubbing shoulders argument. Bootspace, unsurprisingly, isn’t huge, with the foldable rear seats up and won’t take a new flatscreen TV above 40 inches in size. On the outside it’s good enough, with a family resemblance to the Captiva by virtue of the quad headlight cluster, leading to a pert backside via some smooth sheetmetal on the four passenger doors.
Racetrack or road and an introduction.
Hello there everyone, I’m Dave. Although new to Private Fleet, my background when it comes to the automotive area is pretty reasonable; I’m a freelance car reviewer with my own website (www.awheelthing.com), work as a motorsports commentator, interviewed some household names in Aussie motorsport, have sold cars and present a weekly wrapup on www.torqueradio.com.au. As such, I’ll be providing some reader friendly industry news & reviews on cars and invite you along for the ride.
Megan’s spot on post about indicating leads me to my first contribution. Around the age of 16 or 17, we learn, supposedly, how to drive a combination of metal, plastic and rubber that weighs over 1000 kilograms at speeds up to 90 kilometres per hour. Or, if you like, move at 25 metres per second (if we use 90 kmh) whilst, generally, gripping the steering wheel intently and looking straight ahead. It’s an increasing concern to those that work in the driver safety area that our new P Plated drivers haven’t really been taught to “drive”, they’ve merely been shown how to steer, select D and…..well, that’s about it.
Targa: Showcasing Tasmania
I have just returned from Tasmania, host of what is billed as ‘The World’s Ultimate Tarmac Rally’- Targa Tasmania.
In its 22nd year, the ‘Targa’ takes in roads across the breadth of The Apple Isle, over six days of intense competition. There was an eclectic mix of cars, with around 220 entries in this year’s instalment ranging from $500,000-plus Lamborghinis to a 1938 Dodge, the oldest vehicle in the event.
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