KEY POINTS:
This column began 10 years ago this weekend. Since then, it has carried more than 550,000 words. That's roughly the same number that J.K. Rowling used to write three Harry Potter novels. Among the items that tickled readers' fancies the most was this, from December 2005: A St Johns resident, worried about traffic congestion from the Winstone's Quarry Housing Development, was told by an Auckland city planner not to go out in her car during rush hour. "I don't," said the planner. So that's it, eh? The planner wants Aucklanders to stay at home during rush hour so there won't be a rush hour and the roads will be empty for everyone else to use. Thinking like that will get him a job in Wellington.
US muscle fans in for treat
American muscle fans can be excused for thinking Christmas has come early. The Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Corvette clubs will have more than 100 cars on show in Newmarket on September 23. Among them will be original 1958 'Vettes AND 1964 Mustangs. The shindig starts at 10am at Andrew Simms Mitsubishi. Organiser Gary McCrystal says it promises to be the biggest such show in Australasia.
Aussies want diesel option
Australian carmakers could stand to lose almost 40 per cent of their large-car sales by failing to offer a diesel engine option, a survey has revealed. The Roy Morgan Research study shows that nearly 40 per cent of Australian large-car customers said they would seriously consider a diesel model when buying a new car. None of the big four - Ford, Holden, Toyota and Mitsubishi - have approved plans for diesel models, although Ford is understood to have signed off on a diesel-powered Territory, using the 2.7-litre V6 found under the bonnet of Jaguars, Peugeots and Land Rovers.
TI stamp for Alfa Romeo sedan
The most sought-after Alfa Romeo models have been those badged Ti, the sign of the carmaker's more sharply defined examples. It stands for Tourism International and was first seen in 1950, on the 1900 model. Some of the most notable Ti units include the 1957 Giulietta, the 1977 Alfasud and the 1982 Giulietta 2.0. Now the Italian carmaker has come up with a Ti version of the current 159 sedan. And it has been given special treatment inside and out. One of the most significant revisions is a sports suspension kit. The kit lowers the ride height by 20mm and helps to sharpen the steering response.
Toyota eyes us Olympic team
When Toyota took to the track at the Daytona 500 in February it fuelled a high-octane controversy in the United States. The good ol' boys of NASCAR railed against the deep-pocketed Japanese carmaker running roughshod over stock-car racing. A General Motors worker even created a website entitled Fans Against Racing Toyotas (FART). But the opposition against Toyota soon died down after it failed to win a single race. Now, however, it might resurface. Peter De Lorenzo, the author of the book The United States of Toyota, says Toyota is now aiming to be the next long-term sponsor of the US Olympic team, after GM's US$1 billion ($1.45 billion) 10-year agreement ends next year at Beijing.
We are the world
Out of roughly 1000 items under this heading since 1997, this is the one that got the biggest laugh: Norman Frey figured he would celebrate a football game in the United States with a bang. So he filled a balloon with acetylene - the welding gas - put it on the back seat of his car, and took off to a party, where he planned to explode the balloon at the end of the televised game. But he didn't make it, reported the Rocky Mountain News. Police in Sheridan, Colorado, found Frey's car with its windows blown out, doors hanging on hinges, and a 30cm-bulge in the roof. They traced Frey, 46, and a friend to hospital, where they were being treated for burns. Investigators believe that static electricity ignited the gas in the balloon leading to the big blow out.
alastair.sloane@nzherald.co.nz
