The good oil: Hyundai to launch i10 aimed at religious leaders

A Finnish tourist snapped the Gullwing in action. Photo / Supplied

Kevin writes from Hamilton to say he doubts the photo of the modern-day Mercedes-Benz Gullwing (above) pictured in Wednesday's Superwheels was taken in the South Island, as the story said. "I have read before that winter is when the car and tyre companies do their testing here," he says. You're right, Kevin. But there was another clue that the story was a deliberate hoax on our part. It's the name of the Finnish tourist who claimed he took the picture. Spelled backwards Loof Lirpa is ... April Fool. The photo was taken in Europe.

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BMW says it's taken the next step in its award-winning EfficientDynamics programme with a fuel-saving system called Magnetic Tow Technology (MTT), developed with the US space programme. A laser system in the front of the car throws out a magnetic beam which can lock on to a car in front within 20m. The carmaker says tests show that the BMW driver can pretty much take his foot off the accelerator and let the car ahead do all the work. The towing car will not notice any change in manoeuvrability. The carmaker says MTT could save as much as 30 per cent in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The BMW driver can unhook from the towing car at any time by depressing the clutch pedal to start the vehicle, the same method used to operate the existing Start Stop system. Yep, that story too was a hoax, flashed around the world by BMW last Wednesday.

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Hyundai is about to launch a new i10 hatchback aimed at religious leaders who want to shake off the image of only using luxury transport and identify more with the world's poor. The city car is powered by a new-generation "Kappa" engine, a clean-burning unit said to emit CO2 exhaust emissions of 119g/km. The seats in the spartan interior are covered with a cloth woven by monks in the Indian city of Utta Bullacs. The roof contains the only high-tech component, strengthened with an organic-based composite mix developed for use in offshore powerboating in Switzerland. Another April 1 hoax, this time from South Korea.

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Kia will launch its funky five-door Soul in New Zealand next week. But it's not expected to come with a new fuel-saving device, although the carmaker says it can be retro-fitted. Air Propulsion and Retardation Installation Line comprises sensors built into the front and rear bumpers which monitor wind speed along the surface of the car's body and deploy special adjustable panels. These work a bit like aerodynamic splitters in go-fast supercars. The front sensors act under braking, deploying panels under the doorsills that harness airflow to help the car stop quicker. The rear sensors open bigger panels under the back bumper to redirect wind turbulence to aid forward motion. Kia says: "The big problem with most fuel-saving and emission-reduction systems is that they are expensive. We wanted to come up with an answer that didn't cost the earth and could be retrospectively applied to cars already on the road." Like the Indian city above, this story is "utter bollocks", too. Except the part about Kia launching its new Soul next week.

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This story is true: Feliks Goldshtein was wearing snow clothes and had ski goggles around his neck when he got out of his car near a bank in Stow, Ohio. The snow was thick on the ground and the air was freezing. Goldshtein paused outside the bank's doors, put on the goggles and walked inside. He joined a queue to one of the tellers and waited ... and waited. It was when he finally approached the teller and pulled out a gun that the two plainclothes cops who had joined the queue pounced. A bank employee said: "He obviously didn't think he looked suspicious."

alastair.sloane@nzherald.co.nz