Patently reliable

By Alastair Sloane

A colleague on this newspaper drives a 1994 Hyundai Accent with 130,000km on the clock. She and her husband speak of it with some reverence, of how reliable it has been, even loaded down with potatoes on the return trip from their bach near Whangarei.

No, they are not like the gypsies raiding potato patches, or brewing vodka or poteen, the illicit, fiery Irish drink distilled from the humble spud. Nor are they making potato bread. They simply grow the potatoes in good soil at the bach and store them in sacks under the house in Auckland for the winter.

They are good potatoes, too - fluffy and firm all at the same time. Another colleague once tried to grow potatoes in Papua New Guinea. They were so full of moisture in the tropical heat they turned to mush in minutes in a pot on the barbecue.

He could only bake them. But the sticky heat outside his house was just as intense inside, so he hardly ever turned the oven on. He soon abandoned the potato project and went back to curry and rice, mostly cooked by an Indian neighbour.

He and the Indian neighbour would be dismayed to read that a couple of Japanese fellows have filed a patent for curry, so that they can claim a royalty every time a curry is sold in that country.

The application, now with Japan's patent office, lists two Japanese men, Hirayama Makoto and Ohashi Sachiyo, as the "inventors" of "cooking a curry." This dish, according to Britain's Sunday Independent newspaper, was originally adapted by British settlers from the spice mixes of Indian cuisine, with the name coming from the Tamil word "kari," meaning sauce.

The Japanese application has concerned India, said the newspaper, because under New Zealander Mike Moore's World Trade Organisation rules, member nations have to pass laws by next year protecting intellectual property such as patents.

For example, a Texas rice-grower has patented a variety of basmati rice, even though India grows 650,000 tonnes of basmati rice each year.

Could an olive-oil producer in New Zealand therefore patent his product, when nearly all of the world's production comes from around the Mediterranean?

Where does that leave the car? Will Japan, which, the world agrees, makes the most reliable cars, now claim a patent for, say, "inventing reliable cars"?

The problem here perhaps is that the patent-holder could be liable every time a "reliable car" broke down.

One car, however, that hasn't broken down, apart from a new starter motor and clutch a few weeks ago, is our workmate's 1.5-litre Hyundai Accent. It is one of 5254 Korean-built Accents sold in New Zealand since 1994.

The new five-door Accent should prove just as successful and reliable. Hyundai launched it the other day, soon after delivering 60-odd to Waikato Health.

It is longer, wider and a teeny bit taller than the model it replaces. It also has a wider front track.

A brief drive showed it was quieter, too, with much improved ride and handling and a crisp five-speed manual gearbox.

There are five Accent models, one powered by a 1.3-litre engine and the others using a 1.5-litre unit.

The 1.3 is a manual model only, $19,950, and comes with standard industry features, including driver's airbag.

The 1.5 models are available with manual or automatic gearboxes and range in price, depending on bells and whistles, between $23,950 and $27,450.