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Electric vehicles (EVs) could turn out to be a technology too far, just as the supersonic Concorde passenger aircraft proved to be, writes a New Zealand Cambridge University professor. Concorde was “soon recognised as a beautiful piece of engineering that could never be a commercial success,” says Michael Kelly, Emeritus Professor of Engineering at the UK institution. “The … [Read more...] about Will EVs go the way of the Concorde passenger plane?

Six billion people would perish inside 12 months if energy from fossil fuels was suddenly switched off all around the world. That’s the nightmare scenario author and former Bank of England economist Neil Record pictures for the planet if overnight the Just Stop Oil protestors got their way. “I am going to assume the ‘oil’ in Just Stop Oil means fossil fuels – so oil, gas … [Read more...] about Just Stop Oil?  Yeah, right!

It’s pretty much a sure bet that New Zealand won’t get the ‘greenest’ powertrain in the new Toyota LandCruiser Prado 4x4 range. It’s a petrol-electric hybrid that, had it been available, would have made more palatable Toyota NZ’s frequent references to cutting exhaust emissions. Instead, the 2024 Prado – the first all-new Prado in 14 years – gets the same turbocharged … [Read more...] about Toyota Prado gets ‘shave and a clean shirt’

Road damage analysis using the ‘fourth power formula’ has surfaced as the National Party stokes its election campaign with a proposed $500 million fund to repair New Zealand’s crumbling road surfaces.  The formula – a common mathematical equation – is used by highways engineers to assess the damage caused to roads by heavier vehicles. It means that if weight on a … [Read more...] about Pothole survey: EVs stress road surfaces

It's safe to assume that every one of the 475 watches made to celebrate the 75th birthday of the Porsche nameplate would have been spoken for before they officially went on sale this week, from June 8.  The special edition timepiece is called Chronograph 1 – 75 Years Porsche Edition (above) and is priced at $US11,000, or $NZ17,500. It is modelled after … [Read more...] about Keeping watch on time Porsche linked with Subaru