A year ago today the Good Oil had an item about collectible bottles of German beer with hinged cork stoppers and colourful labels of classic cars, including early Mercs and BMWs. There were also models from Horch and DKW, carmakers which became part of Audi. We said Dad might like a bottle for Father's Day. Well, the beer is back. It's at Newmarket Wines and Spirits at $12.95 a bottle. But you had better be quick - it sold out in two hours last year.
Time for a tune
Waitakere City Council's vehicle-testing station has been doing exhaust-emission tests on cars for six years. When it started, 50 per cent of cars tested were polluting the atmosphere. Now it is down to 7 per cent. "The improvement has coincided with the boom in Japanese imports, fuel injection and electronic ignition," says manager Lesley Lawrie. "However, the popularity of four-wheel-drives and diesel cars in the same period has significantly eroded pollution gains."
Now the station will introduce an advisory service for owners of diesel vehicles. "A well-tuned diesel engine doesn't belch clouds of black smoke - those that do have clogged fuel injectors," Lawrie says. "The black smoke is half-burned fuel. It means that they are using more fuel than they should and getting less power from it. They are also polluting the environment."
Badly wounded
BMW New Zealand managing director Geoff Fletcher admitted the other day that, yes, subsidiary company Rover had been bleeding the German carmaker dry for some years. Now comes the news that Malaysian car company Proton is discussing a joint vehicle with Rover, a deal that could secure the British carmaker's future. Proton apparently approached Rover with a $3 billion plan to build the car in both Britain and Malaysia. BMW bought Rover and Land-Rover in 1994. It sold Rover to British interests and Land-Rover to Ford this year.
Alfa looks back
Alfa is an acronym for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, the Italian carmaker founded in 1910. It became Alfa Romeo after Nicola Romeo took over the company in 1920. Tonight, Auto Motor and Sport looks back at Alfa's 90-year history. The Triangle Television show also checks out Ford's people-mover, the Galaxy, and puts the Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon up against a BMW 3-Series Touring, and tests two new Mercedes-Benz models.
Strong point
Top-end carmakers have been using magnesium in components for some time. It is cost-effective, lighter and stronger than aluminium and has better die-casting characteristics. The Alfa Romeo 156, for example, uses magnesium in seat mounts, and Porsche uses 50kg of the stuff in the 911. Now, Ford Australia wants to make more use of the metal, and international president Jac Nasser is backing development of a $1.5 billion magnesium plant near Rockhampton in Queensland.
We are the world
* A traffic cop in Germany stopped a 15-car funeral procession and booked each driver for doing 32 km/h in a 25 km/h residential zone.
* Traffic statistics in Alaska record there were 689 accidents involving a car and a moose in 1998. The stats also reveal that 11 per cent of all residents in the capital of Anchorage have been in a car that hit a moose and 72 per cent have been in a car that had to swerve or brake to avoid one.
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