Good oil: Zoom to front

If Mazda's designers ever need confirmation that the direction they're taking with the new-generation zoom-zoom vehicles is the right one, they need only look at the trophy cabinets in Mazda offices around the globe. Since 2002, when the Mazda6 kick-started the new designs, the vehicles have collected 280 awards worldwide, including 17 in New Zealand. The MX-5has been the star performer, winning last year's car of the year awards from the Herald and the NZ Motoring Writers Guild.

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A rare 1931 supercharged Lagonda for sale in Britain is attracting worldwide interest. The 2-litre model has with 86,000 miles (139,000km) on the clock. The auctioneers, www.classic-auctions.com, (see link below) expect it to fetch $NZ120,000. Likely to make $50,000 is a 1953 Jensen 541 prototype, the only all-aluminium 541 made, and a 1923 Wolseley A9 Colonial Tourer.

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Male drivers in Britain are wasting 5.9 million hours each year because of their reluctance to swallow their pride and admit they are lost. Research from the RAC motoring organisation shows that the nation's 17.9 million male drivers wait 20 minutes each time they get lost before they're willing to stop and ask for directions. That's twice as long as female drivers. "Research shows that men generally have better spatial skills than women, so when it comes to things like map-reading and navigation there's added pressure on male drivers to perform," the foundation says.


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Research in Britain shows that motorists who take advanced driving courses are better at cornering, gear-changing and maintaining a safe distance, and are 30 per cent more aware of what's going on. But drivers who rely on their basic licence as a motoring "passport for life" tend to blame others for accidents. London's Brunel University researchers say: "This shows that motorists who think that simply accumulating years of experience on the road is enough to improve their driving are wrong. What makes the difference is extra coaching."


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Making out in a car in a closed space, leaving the engine running to keep the heater going, can be lethal. A New York couple were found asphyxiated and "enjoined in a sexual position," says the New York Post. A Milwaukee couple died the same way, overcome by passion and deadly exhaust fumes.