Tin Lizzie’s Big Day Out

Organiser Ian Langley reckons tomorrow's All Ford Day at the carmaker's headquarters in Manukau is going to be a cracker. "I get the feeling that we're in for a real treat," he said. "Around 150 cars turned out for last year's event, but we're aiming for 200 plus this year." The line-up of Ford models will include a 1915 Model T, the car nicknamed "Tin Lizzie." At the time, "Lizzie" was American slang for a reliable servant.

In the slow lane

Research in the United States shows that older drivers take 60 per cent longer to check their car's instruments compared with younger drivers. Oldies' reaction times on the road were similarly slower. "If you find yourself behind an elderly driver going slower it is probably because they need to drive slower to be as safe as others on the road," says Toyota NZ chief Bob Field.

Deep south trek

At Easter weekend, Holden clubs from around the country will trek to Invercargill for their annual get-together, known as the Holden Nationals. Members of the Early Holden Club of Auckland will drive 15 examples south. One of the 15 was first sold in Alexandra in the 1960s and the owner hopes to meet its previous owners.

Three-day test drives

General Motors' European arm Opel will make 35,000 vehicles available for three-day test drives through dealerships in 40 countries across Europe. GM Europe chairman Fritz Henderson said potential customers would be able to take the vehicles home, "and drive them as if the vehicles were their own". The campaign has been designed to win over a new generation of buyers. It will run for three months. Opel has been testing the new programme in its home market of Germany and has so far logged 30,000 test drives. Some Opel models are rebadged as Holdens in New Zealand.

We are the world

Police in downtown Manilla are fixing strips of wet blankets to the sides of official government vehicles to curb an ongoing traffic hazard - pedestrians swarming over moving cars looking for a ride. Police believe, says the Manilla Bulletin, that hitch-hikers will stay away from the vehicles for fear of soiling their clothes on the blankets.