Car News Articles

Ryan Briscoe yesterday emerged from the shadows of compatriot Will Power to secure victory on home soil

Briscoe now becomes the Gold Coast Indy 300’s first Australian winner.

The Sydney-based driver coasted to victory in the final lap of the race, finishing ahead of New Zealand’s Scott Dixon and American Ryan Hunter-Raey.

Race favourite Power failed to finish. Power, who dominated the weekend’s sessions, started from pole for the third year in a row, only to crash out in the 17th lap when he turned too early around a corner, clipping his wheel against the wall.

The crash, which Power labelled the worst mistake of his career, left Briscoe to fly the flag for the Australians, in what could be the last time the IndyCars head down under.

Briscoe held his composure and led for most of the race, despite fierce attention in the final laps from series champion Dixon, who threatened to steal one away for New Zealand in a trans-Tasman rivalry.

“We kept it clean, didn’t make any mistakes and that was the key thing today,” Briscoe said. He said the win, in a non-championship race, was worth a “million points” to him.

Briscoe, a top-five finisher in the series rankings this season, said he felt he had found his place in the IndyCars, after a varied career, including a stint as a Formula One test driver.

He paid tribute to Power, a clear favourite to take out the $70,000 winner’s cheque after setting the standard during practice and qualifying. “The name of his team is Team Australia, there’s a lot more attention on him here and I was probably in the shadows a little bit,” Briscoe said.

“But it was as home a race to me as it is to him, that’s for sure. It means a lot to me to win it.”

For Power, the mishap only extends his bad luck at the 4.5km street circuit.

After four outings, his best result remains a 12th placing, having crashed out in 2005, 2007 and today.

“I had everything there to win the race, (but) I made a mistake and a very bad one,” Power said.

“Something just caught me out … I’m incredibly disappointed.”

Power wasn’t the only one having troubles on the track, with former winner Dario Franchitti, AJ Foyt, Mario Moreas and Danica Patrick just some of the drivers caught out on the tricky circuit.

Patrick ended up 18th after a nightmare three days, in which she failed to finish a lap during qualifying and damaged her car in a crash with Helio Castroneves early in the race.

 

- AAP

More than 51,000 cars, light commercials and motorcycles have been voluntarily recalled in Australia in the past three months over safety concerns.

In extreme situations, owners have been warned their vehicles may catch fire.

Mitsubishi was hit with the biggest safety recall for the three month period. It has written to owners of Pajeros built between 2000 and 2003 to warn them of a potential brake problem. As many as 13,400 vehicles may need to be checked.

The company also recalled 4400 of its now-defunct 380 sedan, built between 2006 and 2007, which may have a faulty fuel tank retaining strap. In a severe collision the tank may be dislodged and spill fuel.

Mitsubishi is also checking more than 8300 Colts built this year which may have a problem with door windows which may drop and unlock or open the door while the car is being driven.

Honda has recalled 11,800 of its 2004-05 Jazz to check whether they have a faulty handbrake, while Mazda needs to look at 1770 of its B4000 utes built between 2005-2006 because the bonnet may open unexpectedly.

Subaru has recalled 5380 of its Imprezas, built between 2001 and 2003 because of a faulty rear tailgate which may suddenly drop.

Subaru Australia spokesman, Dave Rowley, said many of the recalls were to check for “minor or niggling” faults.

“We have had no incidents of anyone being injured in Australia and we found only six cars which had the faulty (tailgate strut) connection.

“Many recalls are done as a pre-emptive measure to avoid possible problems further down the track, ” he said.

Other potential faults include electrical short circuits, which in extreme circumstances, may start a cabin fire in Landrover Freelander diesels built since 2007. Landrover warns the fault may occur when the vehicle is parked and unattended.

Other recalls were to check for short circuits in Fiat’s Grande Punto; and a chance that the panoramic glass roof in a small number of Citroen’s Picasso could be dislodged.

Suzuki has warned of potential fire risk in its 3-door Suzuki Grand Vitara (2006-07) because of a possible cracked fuel pipe, while the 2005-08 Vitara diesel has a remote fire risk in a filter because of a problem with the intercooler outlet pipe insulator.

Other problems include faulty rear seat belt D-loop attachments in the current Jaguar XF, and the potential for a loss of steering in Chrysler’s 300C built last year because of a problem with rear axle hub nuts which could see the half shaft disengage from the wheel hub.

Mercedes Benz wants to look at axles, springs and the park brake in its Sprinter or Vito vans.

Jayco has recalled some of its motor homes to check and fix awning and exhaust pipe problems.

Of the 1500 motorcycles recalled, safety issues to be fixed include a faulty fuel filler on Kawasaki models, a windshield which may come off Buell bikes if ridden at high speed and a rear view mirror which may fall off on certain Yamaha models.

An ACCC spokeswoman said this year’s figures were actually less than last year but the number has been steadily rising over the past 20 years.

The ACCC says there have been 52 individual recalls this year compared to 171 last year.

Full details of the recalls can be found at www.recalls.gov.au

 

- The Daily Telegraph

A couple of weeks ago I posted my three ideas for General Motors to get back on its feet. This week I figured I had better get to Chrysler before there was no Chrysler.

As I stated before, it’s time to root for the American auto industry. This doesn’t mean buying the actual car. Anyone who puts down his/her own cash for a car should do it because the product is good, not because he/she feels a patriotic duty. When you cheer for an industry it just means to remind friends of a possible domestic alternative when they go car shopping, or to make sure you look at a domestic car on your own car buying trip.

With that stated, I give my three recommendations for getting the Chrysler showrooms to feel less like ghost towns:

Thirty different auto manufacturers and technology companies are partners in a group called Car 2 Car Communication Consortium. The point is to create cars that talk to each other — but instead of swapping secrets only with other cars of the same brand, the group wants to create vehicles that can speak to any other car, truck, or motorcycle on the road.

As one would expect, there are a number of things needed to successful implement the idea. The most important hurdle has just been cleared with the announcement that all parties have agreed on the European radio frequency that vehicles would would use to communicate. Ultimately, the consortium wants to create the ability for a Car 2 Car equipped vehicle to warn any nearby vehicle of an icy patch on the road, or for a motorcycle nearing an intersection to notify you while you’re behind the wheel. Now that the consortium has a common channel to use, it only needs to decide on a common language. Esperanto, anyone? You can read the full release after the jump.

[Source: BMW]

PRESS RELEASE

INFORMATION EXCHANGE BETWEEN VEHICLES FOR MORE SAFETY IN ROAD TRAFFIC

10/24/2008: BMW Group Research and Technology shows the current development status.

Munich/Dudenhofen. Networking between vehicles from different manufacturers forms the basis for future driver assistance systems. The key focus for the BMW Group is enhancing driver sovereignty and the active safety of all road users. As part of the international forum of the CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium, BMW Group Research and Technology demonstrates how BMW automobiles and motorcycles will be able to exchange information with vehicles from other manufacturers in the future.

Networked cars communicate with each other and with the road infrastructure using WLAN. This provides fast and early information about potential hazard situations and events in road traffic. Information exchange between cars especially at the end of tailbacks, at accidents or in icy road conditions can avoid accidents or at least reduces their consequences.

BMW Group Research and Technology has been involved in the CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium right from the start. The consortium has grown from four partners at the start to a group of more than 30 partners. Two conditions need to be met in order to fully exploit the potential of Car-to-X communication systems with nationwide deployment: A joint technology platform needs to be agreed for defining standard interfaces and a uniform radio frequency. The recently approved 5.9 GHz frequency band for applications of Car-to-X communication represents a key milestone for standardisation in Europe - as already in USA and Japan.

The vehicle manufacturers involved with the forum use cars, trucks and motorcycles to demonstrate traffic situations when Car-to-X communication provides drivers with specific support, for example, in built-up areas where motorcycles or emergency vehicles are approaching cross-roads. Car-to-X communication is also particularly effective at roadworks or in situations where vehicles have broken down.

For more information: www.car-to-car.org