Good oil: Boost for Aussie Ford

Ford head office in Detroit says Ford Australia will benefit from US$1 billion ($1.5 billion) in investment over the next 10 years. And it hints it might use Australia in the same way as General Motors uses Holden - as a hothouse for future American-style muscle cars and rear-drive sedans. Ford says its Australian Falcon/Territory sedans and wagons could be the basis for new vehicles drawn from its "globally competitive large rear-wheel-drive vehicle platform". Ford also says its Australian team will begin to design vehicles for left-hand-drive. Ford will spend some of the US$1 billion on establishing Australia as its main centre for the Asia, Pacific and Africa regions. The first job is developing a light commercial platform to make vehicles for 80 countries.

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The 10 most annoying driving habits in the US were revealed in an insurance company survey. They are: 1. Distracted drivers talking on cell phones (Motor Mouths). 2. Slow drivers in the fast lane (Turtle Racers). 3. Pushy drivers who tailgate (Piggybackers). 4. Drivers who weave through traffic to gain one or two car lengths (Wacky Weavers). 5. Obnoxious drivers who speed up to keep you from changing lanes (Gap Snatchers). 6. Hasty drivers who change lanes without signalling (Space Invaders). 7. Road Rage (Road Ragers). 8. Motorcyclists who race down the middle of a lane, between cars (Speed Racers). 9. Women applying makeup and men shaving (Driving Divas). 10. Drivers who leave their turn signal on for miles (Morse Coders). Read more about the survey at www.hagerty.com

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When was the last time you sounded your horn? Many drivers rarely sound them because they feel that it can be interpreted as aggression. Typical reasons drivers have for sounding the horn include reminding drivers that the traffic lights have turned green, or reproaching the driver who pulled out in front of you. But the whole purpose of the horn is to warn other road users of your presence. The safety experts say use your horn as you would your own voice.

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Researchers in the US say that hybrid vehicle registrations more than doubled in 2005, rising 139 per cent to just under 200,000 vehicles. That number is still only about 1 per cent of the annual US sales total, but research company R.L. Polk says the hybrid market has grown exponentially since 2000, when only Honda and Toyota were selling petrol-electric vehicles.. Polk's analysts note the many new hybrid models will boost registrations next year.

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English university professor Ronald Mann was driving in Southampton when he had a heart attack and collapsed restrained by his seatbelt at the wheel. His car smashed into a tree and the the jolt, said doctors, acted like a defibrillator and restarted his heart.