TVR club mooted

A handful of TVR owners got together at the Hotel Du Vin to toss around the idea of forming a TVR club to officially honour the lickety-split British sports cars, made since 1947 in the seaside resort of Blackpool. "We need to hear from anybody who owns or has an interest in TVRs," says Trevor Price. Email Price on tvrprice@hotmail.com or Steve Griffiths at kamstg@xtra.co.nz if you're interested.

New car paparazzi

Spy photographers say it's worth it, the cat and mouse game of trying to get an exclusive picture of a new car during testing. Automotive News next Wednesday looks at the lengths the lensmen go to get scoop photos and how their presence frustrates carmakers. Some of those exclusive pictures are of the 2005 Land Rover Discovery. The paper also reveals the plans a low-volume Italian supercar-maker has for New Zealand. There's a story about the role Holden will play in Saab's new marketing plans here, and pictures and details of many new models, including Toyotas due soon.

Rats in the running

A Southland farmer couldn't figure out why his new V8 Monaro was running so rough. So he rang his Holden dealer and asked them to fix it, quicksmart. They did. Rats had been nesting on the engine cover and snacking on the odd sparkplug lead. The leads were for desert. The main was dog biscuits the rodents had carried up through the engine bay of the car from a bag in the barn. That was the only explanation for the crumbs, see.

Trouble in coils

In Tasmania, Launceston man Dean Waspas got an unusual extra with the Mitsubishi Triton ute he bought. Coiled under the bonnet was a green tree snake, a native of Queensland, from where the ute had been shipped. "At first I thought it was someone having a bit of a joke and they'd put a plastic one in there," Waspas told the Launceston Examiner. "But it started moving and that got my heart thumping a bit." He and his brother-in-law removed the non-poisonous snake and took it to quarantine officers.

Sorento a winner

The Kia Sorento has won a significant four-wheel-drive of the year award in Britain, from 4x4 magazine. The monthly chose the 2.5-litre turbo-diesel Sorento (not yet available in New Zealand) as its overall off-road winner, beating such highly fancied newcomers as the Volvo XC90 and Volkswagen Touareg and established heavyweights like the Toyota Land Cruiser. Sorento has received much praise worldwide for its build quality and off-road ability. A 3.5-litre V6 model went on sale in New Zealand in June.

Record new car sales

The Australian new-vehicle market is racing towards a new annual sales record of around 900,000 units. July sales of just under 80,000 new vehicles were 14 per cent up on the same month last year. Holden Australia sales chief Ross McKenzie sees no sign of the boom ending soon because of high business and consumer confidence, low interest rates and the fundamentals of vehicle affordability - the best for new cars in Australia's history. But he warns that the demand has created the potential for a used-car glut. "Used-car management will emerge as a major issue in this market next year and beyond," he said. Used-car prices in Australia have dropped 15 to 20 per cent in the past six months.

We are the world

California sheriff's deputy Owen Hall was standing beside a car he had stopped in Los Angeles when he was shot in the leg with an arrow. Police combed the neighbourhood and finally found archer Tri Thanh Lam, who had apparently been practising in his backyard. Lam was arrested, says the Los Angeles Times, but released when authorities realised he had committed no crime. California's negligent-shooting law applies only to guns.