StreetKa named desire

The Ford Ka has been a slow seller in New Zealand since its launch in 1998. Why, who knows? It certainly rides better than most small cars and it isn't altogether ugly. Nor is the convertible derivative, called the StreetKa. The one-off model was unveiled at the Turin motor show. It's a muscular little number, a cross between the Ka and the Puma, with its 1.7-litre engine, flared guards, wide wheels, roll hoops similar to the soft-top Audi TT, an aluminium and translucent plastic dash and blue leather seats. Don't be surprised if a slightly more subdued model makes it into production, when the Ka is upgraded in two years.

Temper, temper


Automotive News a couple of weeks ago mentioned a car security device called the Matlok. It's actually a hinged steel plate bolted to the floor under the driver's side mat. Once activated, it swings up and locks into place to stop a would-be thief using the pedals. It was designed in South Africa, where it is called the Gat Vol, Afrikaans for "pissed off" - which is what people are when their car is nicked. The manufacturer says that the Matlok's tamperproof design makes it impossible to drive the vehicle.

Head bangers


A poll in Michigan pretty much mirrors opinion in the United States on mandatory motorcycle helmet laws. More than 80 per cent of respondents said the American taxpayer shouldn't have to pay for injuries to bikers who refuse to wear a helmet. Local Harley-Davidson riders didn't agree. They hogged most of downtown Detroit to burn helmets and chant "Let those who ride decide."

Expensive read


A few weeks ago www.mclarencars.com was selling a one-off book about the McLaren F1 road car. It is a 400-page tome, printed with what is called special silver ink on Consort Royal Silk paper with an embossed steering wheel on the cover and a "3D metal chassis plate" on the inside front cover. It contains the signatures of McLaren supremo Ron Dennis and F1 designer Gordon Murray and is limited to 1000 copies, 100 of which are hand-bound in genuine Connolly leather for owners of the car. The book costs about $1500 - $2 million or so less than the car.

Mazda's year


Mazda has been doing reasonably well in New Zealand so far this year. Its sales are up and it's sharing a new building in South Auckland with owner Ford. Things are going well for Mazda Europe too. It sold its 5.5 millionth vehicle the other day, 33 years after it first began exporting to Europe. That works out at average sales of about 167,000 vehicles a year.

WE ARE THE WORLD


* What do Horowhenua MP Georgina Beyer and a Canadian fellow by the name of Bruce Chapman have in common? Not a lot, other than promoting road safety. Georgina peers out from billboards in New Zealand telling people to "brake on the straight." Bruce tells Canadians not to drink and drive. Or he did until he was arrested the other day for ... drinking and driving.

* Two gendarmes on the beat one evening in Lyon noticed a man slumped at the wheel of a parked car. They banged on the doors and roof but the man didn't stir. So they smashed the windscreen - and found a leaking blow-up dummy the woman owner of the car used to deter car thieves.

* A fellow called John Bryant, from South Bend, Indiana, took his dislike of parking wardens to his grave. He had two parking meters set in concrete as part of his headstone. The meters read "expired."

* British woman Sharon Webb is so terrified of reversing her car that she only uses the forward gears. Sharon, from Glastonbury, has been driving for 25 years.

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