KEY POINTS:
The car that attracted most interest at the Shannon's Classic Car Auction in Sydney wasn't the mint 1973 Holden Torana GTR XU-1, or the 1970 Boss Mustang 302 Fastback. It was a 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 coupe, described as the finest example in Australia. It was knocked down for A$220,000. The Dino cost A$12,000 new in 1972. The Torana sold for A$75,000 and the Mustang for A$126,000. A 1969 Monaro GTS 327 was passed in at A$120,000.
Born to help
The four millionth Land Rover rolled off the production line in Britain the other day and was handed over to television star Joanna Lumley, the patron of the Born Free Foundation. The milestone model was a Discovery 3 and will be used by the wildlife and animal welfare group in Britain and Europe. Land Rover provides Born Free with vehicles in Britain, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
In the pink
A London taxi driver has painted his cab pink to cater for gay weddings. Carlos Oliviera hopes to lure some of the 4000 gay couples who tie the knot in Britain each year. "It's certainly rocking London, and women think its fantastic," he said of the car he calls the Pink Eloper.
BMW excels
BMW'S 3-litre twin turbo engine has won the 2007 International Engine of the Year award. The German carmaker took seven of the 12 awards on offer, with its 2.5-litre inline six and 5-litre v10 also winning gongs. Of the remaining awards, Volkswagen's 1.4-litre turbocharged and supercharged TSI unit triumphed for a second year in the 1-litre to 1.4-litre class. Its larger sibling, the 2-litre turbo developed by Audi and housed in the Golf GTI and Audi A3, topped the 1.8-litre to 2-litre category. Meanwhile, Toyota's 1.5-litre hybrid that powers the Prius was named best fuel economy engine, and its 1-litre 3-cylinder from the European Yaris took the honours in the sub 1-litre category. Porsche won its first IEOY award taking the 3-litre to 4-litre category for its 3.6-litre turbo.
We are the world
Howard Fisher, 54, couldn't explain why he crashed into a couple of police vehicles blocking Interstate 95 in South Carolina. But highway patrol officers figured it out after they seized 20kg of marijuana from his car. Fisher was stoned and said the police cars were "just sort of there".
Up the road, in New York, three men who couldn't scrape together $4.50 for a bridge toll were arrested when police found the driver had lost his licence - and there was $4000 worth of drugs in the boot of the car.
