The good oil: Testing, testing ...

High-end Mercedes cars are back in demand. Photo / Supplied

The British driving test has been branded out of date on the eve of its 75th birthday. Safety experts say instructors are teaching a driving style more suited to cars from the 1960s than 2010 as advances such as power steering and grippier tyres mean teaching techniques such as the "steering wheel shuffle" and straight-line braking are no longer relevant. Peter Rodger, chief examiner for the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: "Although cars are becoming easier to drive, traffic has significantly increased and traffic networks have become immensely more complex, so the driver needs far more understanding of what's going on outside the car." The IAM has also criticised the test for not giving learner drivers experience of unfamiliar driving situations such as on rural roads where 71 per cent of British road deaths occur. The British test began on June 1, 1935.

Kiwi drivers ... doh

The Good Oil just did 2000km back and forth across Portugal and Spain over three days. The roads varied, from hill country twists and turns to six-lane motorways but drivers remained courteous throughout. On the motorways, big rigs stuck to inside slower lanes, mum, dad, the kids and the dog pretty much to middle lanes and go-faster stuff to the outside overtaking lane. Back in Auckland, three trucks hogged lanes one, two and three on the Southern Motorway, travelling at about 100km/h in the rain. Following traffic had to hang back 70m or so to escape the blinding spray.

Luxury leads way

Again, the old story about sales of luxury cars being a economic barometer: in April 2009, as the global recession bit hard, the Mercedes-Benz factory near Stuttgart built 675 flagship S-Class units. Fast forward 12 months where output rose 800 per cent to 6012 units. Research company J D Power and Associates says output gains for the Mercedes CLS (+405 per cent) SLK (+390 per cent) and E-Class (+144 per cent) point to increased customer demand. Audi also expects strong growth from now on. So does BMW, thanks partly to the arrival of the new 5-Series. Credit ratings agency Moody's has revised its outlook for the global car industry to positive from stable.

Small spend, big result

Japanese all-wheel-drive specialist Subaru is one of the go-getters in the US market, slowly building its brand to win and hang on to customers. It spends about US$154 million ($224.86 million) a year on US advertising - US$100 million less than Volkswagen, a fifth of what Hyundai spends and a fraction of the US$2.2 billion plonked down by General Motors.

Renault-Nissan on money

A group led by the Renault-Nissan alliance is eyeing defunct South Korean carmaker Ssangyong. Apparently seven would-be buyers are bidding for a controlling stake in Ssangyong, estimated to be worth about $850 million when it entered bankruptcy protection 15 months ago. The smart money is on Renault-Nissan. "The purchase would provide Renault's Korean unit much needed capacity in Korea, while Nissan can start production of its own-brand vehicles there," said one Asian analyst.

We are the world

Donald Wolfe, 55, was charged with public drunkenness in Brookville, Pennsylvania, after neighbours spotted him giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a roadkill possum.

alastair.sloane@nzherald.co.nz