News that Tesla will set up an outlet in New Zealand next year means, in a roundabout way, that the company is ‘coming home’. Why? Because if it wasn’t for a born-and-bred Kiwi the US electric carmaker might never have got off the ground. Dargaville electronics engineer Ian Wright was working for a US telecommunications company in the early 1990s when he recognised that … [Read more...] about Tesla’s NZ plans sparks story of pioneering Kiwi engineer
How Nissan’s groundbreaking variable-compression engine works …
Nissan’s premium arm Infiniti has unveiled its 2.0-litre variable-compression petrol engine and tests have shown it is just as efficient as a similar capacity diesel unit, says the company. It is already being hailed in Europe as the ‘most advanced internal combustion engine ever created.’ The turbocharged 2.0-litre VC-T is said to offer the power of a 3.5-litre V6, but with … [Read more...] about How Nissan’s groundbreaking variable-compression engine works …
Car sales strongest since year of Muldoon, Lange, and Queen St riot
New vehicle registrations last month totaled 13,884 units, the best September on record and the second-best month since the 13,983 in July 1984. That was when New Zealanders spent up large before the incoming Labour Government’s finance minister Roger Douglas devalued a considerably overvalued NZ dollar. History buffs will remember it as a constitutional crisis. At the … [Read more...] about Car sales strongest since year of Muldoon, Lange, and Queen St riot
Mazda6 gets bundle of upgrades, all at the right price
Among the bundle of SkyActiv technology in the updated Mazda6 range is a component the company calls ‘Natural Sound Smoother’. No, it has nothing to do with the car’s audio system. Rather it quietens down the clatter from the four-cylinder 2.2-litre diesel variant. It sits inside each hollow piston pin and absorbs vibrations generated by the piston going up and down … [Read more...] about Mazda6 gets bundle of upgrades, all at the right price
Takata airbag recall: ‘huge scale’ began years ago
Television and mainstream newspapers have finally latched on to the Takata airbag recall. Fair Go even went as far as saying it ‘discovered the huge scale’ of the recall. But the huge scale has been expanding for the past three-and-a-half years, since the Japanese company was forced to admit there was a problem with its airbag inflators. automotivenews.co.nz warned of it in … [Read more...] about Takata airbag recall: ‘huge scale’ began years ago