The good oil: US bridges 'structurally deficient'

More than 25 per cent of America's 598,000 bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, says Better Roads magazine, which monitors "highway-related" projects across the United States. Texas has the worst bridges - 9564 of its 50,316 steel, concrete or wooden structures are clapped out, says the magazine. Just over 55 per cent of bridges in the District of Columbia have seen better days, followed by Rhode Island (53 per cent), Pennsylvania (39 per cent), Hawaii (38 per cent), and New York (37 per cent).

* * *

French carmaker Renault is reviving the Gordini name for high-performance versions of its Twingo and Clio small cars. The name pays homage to Amedee Gordini, a mechanical genius known as "the sorcerer" for taking production-car engines and making them competitive on the racetrack. The Twingo Gordini RS will be unveiled next week in Paris, followed by the Clio Gordini RS early next year. Both will carry the trademark light blue paint with a pair of white stripes running from nose to tail and centred over the driver. Renault credits the Italian-born Gordini with developing nearly 200,000 vehicles during a 20-year career with the company. Gordini died in 1979, aged 80.

* * *

The Lotus Evora has won EVO magazine's 2009 car of the year title. The British monthly took 13 of the world's most desirable cars to Scotland's Isle of Skye for a three-day, 1600km evaluation. The Evora, it said, coped with the island's demanding roads better than its rivals, including exotics from Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin. The Evora will be launched in Australia next month, priced from A$139,000 ($175,000) and in New Zealand next year. Power comes from a modified version of Toyota's 3.5-litre V6 VVTi engine developing 205kW and driving the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. Lotus claims town and around fuel economy of 9.5 litres/100km (30mpg), and CO2 exhaust emissions of 205g/km.

* * *

The wealthy Aucklander who sold his collection of vintage cars and motorcycles and moved to Australia last year, because "the vulgar people in Parliament have moved New Zealand away from its storied historic roots into a lawless, middle-Pacific no-man's land, where tribal rivalry corrupts legislation and four-letter words dominate the language", emails again, this time about MP Hone Harawira. "The Aussies eventually removed the bigoted Pauline Hanson from the mainstream political landscape - I hope Kiwis do the same with Harawira."

* * *

A phone company in Japan is to use Nissan's "scratch shield" paint to protect its cellphones. The self-healing paint, a claimed world first in paint technology, appeared four years ago. Nissan says it self-heals fine scratches and can restore the vehicle's paint surfaces overnight or up to a week's time in more severe cases.

* * *

Aussie mate who calls Kiwis "Tablets" (inert, hard to swallow, etc) and writes stuff for a daily across the Ditch, dines out on conspiracy theories. He emails: "Re rugby in Europe this month: How come the All Blacks got Southern Hemisphere referees for three of their four tests, the Wallabies two for their four and South Africans none for their three? The world and Tri-Nations champions South Africa sure got the short straw." He's picking a South Africa-Australia final at Eden Park in 2011. "Both have won the Rugby World Cup twice. The third-time winner gets to keep it for good. The bookies reckon the odds on a third-time winner are good."

* * *

Michael Spagnola had been drinking when police stopped his car in New York. So the 38-year-old quickly climbed into the back seat - from where he cheerfully told a sheriff's deputy that although he had been drinking, he wasn't the driver. Spagnola went to water after the cop pointed out that there was no one else in the car.

alastair.sloane@nzherald.co.nz