The good oil: 'How can I help you?'

US speech technology specialist Nuance Communications is working on technology that will let drivers send a text message without taking their hands off the steering wheel or their eyes off the road. One of the aims is to reduce the number of accidents caused by distracted drivers. The goal is to equip cars with a speech system that asks drivers: "How can I help you?"

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A businessman in Dubai wanted his four-door Porsche Panamera to blend in with the local environment - perhaps to somehow help disguise his liking for high-speed runs on roads out of town. So he had it painted "desert camouflage", in pretty much the same pattern as combat troops' uniforms. Now the car stands out like never before.

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It's becoming a world of phonetics. A couple of weeks ago the NZ Transport Agency warned in a radio ad of disruption to traffic over the hilly State Highway One section between Kaiwaka and Waipu - the "Brinda-wins." The Brynderwyn Hills have always been called the "Bryn-derwyns." Now we have another radio ad for an evening in Parnell of Christmas carols, one of which, the male voice says, will be "Good King Whensaysless". English hymn writer John Neale penned the lyrics to "Good King Wen-ces-las" in 1853. Neale's lyrics are a translation of a 13th century Czech poem about a king who goes out in the snow to aid a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen, or Boxing Day. Another source has it that the poem originated in Finland. A radio voice the other day talked about "Vennez-youla" for oil-rich South American country Venezuela, or "Ven-nez-way-la."

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Alfa Romeo's replacement for the ageing 147 hatchback will be called the Giulietta. The Fiat-owned brand will unveil the new car at the Geneva motor show in March before it goes on sale in Europe in May/June. The Giulietta will be the first Fiat group car to use the company's new C-Evo platform, recently renamed Compact. The new platform will also be used in North America for new Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles, due to launch in 2012-13. The Giulietta will be available only as a five door. It will be the third time Alfa has used the name. It first appeared on a sedan and coupe between 1954 and 1965. The second generation, a sedan, was built between 1977 and '85.

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The US Environmental Protection Agency has ranked America's most fuel-efficient carmakers: At the top of the list is Honda, whose US models average 11.9 litres/100km. Hyundai (12 litres) and Toyota (12.1) take home silver and bronze. At the bottom end is Detroit's Big Three: Ford (13.7), General Motors (14.1), and Chrysler (15.1). The price of petrol in the US is roughly US$2.65 ($3.65) a gallon. In Afghanistan, however, by the time costs the security needed to truck fuel through Pakistan is taken into account, the US Government is paying US$400 a gallon to keep its troops mobile. That's according to a US Senate finding.

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Geely, the Chinese carmaker picked as the preferred bidder for Ford's Volvo unit, is said to be seeking at least US$1 billion ($1.37 billion) in loans from Chinese banks to finance its US$1.8 billion bid. Geely, which means "lucky" in Chinese, is hungry for modern and innovative technologies from the Swedish brand to upgrade its cars and tap the growing automotive market in China. At least three major Chinese banks have agreed to help to bankroll Geely's bid.

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Police said the armed bank robbery was well planned. The three men and a woman from New Jersey nonchalantly went about their business at the bank in Delaware until each one of them was near the front of queues to four tellers. They struck as one - and just as efficiently left the bank with the loot. But that's when things turned turtle - one of the robbers left the keys to the getaway car in the bank.

alastair.sloane@nzherald.co.nz