REVIEWS & FEATURES
They design roads, don't they?
"People in the office are always telling me their particular traffic problems. Being a motoring journalist attracts them, I suppose. Eventually I decided to collect them." He handed me a sketch map. "Here’s a just a few."
We were four motoring writers from geographically differing regions, sipping coffee in a hotel lounge close by a significant interchange over Dublin’s lengthening M50, writes engineer Malachy Walsh. We were preparing for a mission. Not for God, but for the long-suffering motorist in the metropolis. Full Story.
An exciting and colourful Frankfurt Motor Show
Prior to the news of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre filtering through the Frankfurt Messe late afternoon on Tuesday 11 September, the Frankfurt Motor Show was an exciting, colourful and very busy place to be on the first of the two press days, write Brian Byrne and Trish Whelan. Many fabulous concept cars made their first appearance, and many new versions of established model names were officially launched. Full Story.
ET phone home ... but maybe not from your car
There's a whole lot of criticism floating around about the use of mobile phones in cars, writes Brian Byrne. But there's not a lot of hard evidence as to their connection with accidents. Nobody's done real research into the area. But that changes from next week, when Ford Motor Company begins testing drivers in a specially-built simulator in Dearborn, Michigan. Sixty volunteers will take part in the experiment, which is hoping to have publishable results in early 2002. Full Story.
Driving styles make huge difference in 'greenhouse' gases
Driving styles and traffic conditions could make up to an 11% difference in 'greenhouse gas' emissions, writes Brian Byrne. That's according to the results of an IrishCar.Com test carried out in association with Volvo Ireland. Because that was the discrepancy in fuel consumption found between four drivers on the same route and in the same car on the test, which was carried out on a variety of roads in south Meath and west Dublin. Full Story.
Trepidition in the Antipodes
Our two-berth came equipped with hot shower, flush toilet and of course, a gas cooker, writes Brian Thornton. Nice to pick a seaside location in the sun, and relax with a G and T before cooking that steak and having a bottle of New Zealand wine before a late evening stroll along the beach when all others - often as many as 30 other people! - have long since left to go home. So, why then do they manage to kill so many drivers and pedestrians annually? Full Story.
So, what's so different about a motorway?
By their nature and design, motorways carry a greater volume of traffic, which generally travel at higher consistent speeds than achievable on national routes, writes Tony Toner. It is of extreme importance therefore, that drivers raise their level of anticipation and their judgement of speed and distance to cope with these factors. Drivers must make decisions early and therefore, it is important to use mirrors earlier and look much further ahead than on other roads. Full Story.
Rosemary's schools driving programme saves lives
If the Government was as serious as it professes to be about reducing deaths on the roads, it would have a minister for road safety, writes Brian Byrne. And it could do worse than have Rosemary Smith as that minister. Because some 5,000 young people out there are better drivers as a result of her dedication to saving lives. That’s what she does. Saves lives and makes the roads safer for all of us. And she’s been doing it for five years without a penny of the billions in motor-related taxes raked in by the state in that time. Her ‘Think Awareness’ driving programme for Transition Year students has been availed of by some 150 schools, either on their own grounds or at Tattersalls car park in Fairyhouse. Full Story.
Lexus tops expanded satisfaction survey
With three models in the top 10, Lexus has emerged as the highest-ranked manufacturer in the 2001 UK Car Customer Satisfaction Study conducted by J D Power and Associates in association with BBC Top Gear, writes John Reilly. It is the first time the Japanese premium brand has been represented in the annual survey of the UK car market, which is now in its 8th year. Jaguar retains second place for the third consecutive year, while BMW improves to third place. Toyota is placed fourth, with Porsche, another brand new to the survey, in fifth position. Full Story.
Assymetrical X Coupe for Geneva Show
A car to get its European premiere at next week’s Geneva Motor Show breaks every tradition about a car’s styling being symmetrical, writes Brian Byrne. Indeed, the BMW X Coupe which was unexpectedly first shown in Detroit earlier this year makes a practical virtue out of many of its assymetries, most of which aren’t immediately noticable when the car is viewed.
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Geneva 2001 Preview
There is a host of new cars being premiered at next week’s Geneva Motor Show, which promises to be more than interesting to even the most jaded of car buffs, write Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan. What follows is just a few among the many we’ll see for the first time in the metal on this side of the world. The irishcar.com team will be there in force to bring you the best coverage of the show, but here’s a taster. full story
Continental pass Dullsville by
I've been a motoring journalist for a decade and a half, but never went to a tyre launch before, writed Brian Byrne. And what can you expect but Dullsville when they want to show you a product which most of us don't think about for 30,000 miles, and then in a negative manner because replacement is going to cost us. Wrong. Oh boy, how wrong. Dullsville is somewhere else, certainly not Barcelona in Spain for the launch of the new ContiSportContact2, the latest offering from the Continental tyre giant. full story
Getting the Best Deal in a seller's market
IT is getting more and more difficult to retain some element of control when buying a new car because it has become such a sellers' market and a trade-in nightmare, writes Eddie Cunningham. Many dealers and salesmen can adopt a civil, but unshakeable, take-it-or-leave-it attitude when it comes to bargaining. Especially when they have lines of used cars they can't shift. Yet there is no reason to give up hope.
We read, hear and see so much about drink driving and speeding; we can easily forget about simple, basic but ever-present dangers, writes Eddie Cunningham. And eyesight is - if you'll forgive an unintended but necessary pun - often overlooked. It sounds ridiculously obvious but if, for some reason, you cannot see adequately, then you heighten the risk of harming yourself or someone else if you don't take steps to remedy the deficit.
Sex still sells when it comes to the motor industry as witnessed at the recent Paris Motor Show where the sleek body work of the cars on view was matched only by the bright things attached to the bonnets ... and we’re not talking about badges! writes Trish Whelan. And with almost as many women at the show as men, who exactly are the men in suits targetting by hiring sexy models to sell their goods?
No room for Politics in Road Safety
We are at a critical juncture, writes Eddie Cunningham. We propose a First World road network. We impose Third World safety standards. It is time to take the politics out of safety. As things currently stand, we are addressing the road safety issue from several perspectives. All are worthy in their own right but, despite protestations to the contrary, there is every appearance of a lack of overall cohesion.