Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is looking to provide luxurious sleeping pods in the cargo holds of its passenger planes within the next two years. Planes such as the A330-800 series, the world’s largest, would offer something like the efficient ‘pod hotel’ capsules devised in Japan and expanded under the Yotel brand for travellers at some of the world’s major … [Read more...] about Airbus plans sleeping ‘pods’ in cargo holds on long-haul flights
Volkswagen's Piech
Toyota sales slump in wake of ‘Drive Happy’ price policy
Leaked documents show sales of new Toyota vehicles plummeted by an average 35 per cent across the carmaker’s New Zealand dealer network immediately after it introduced its ‘Drive Happy’ fixed pricing policy on April 1this year. Sales at 12 of its 23 nationwide outlets – Toyota ‘agents’ under the new regime – dropped more than 40 per cent in the three months after Drive Happy … [Read more...] about Toyota sales slump in wake of ‘Drive Happy’ price policy
Holden Acadia: how new SUV fits into autonomous future
• New Holden NZ managing director Marc Ebolo (above) with Acadia The all-American Holden Acadia SUV brings to New Zealand a look at why General Motors paid upwards of NZ$1.5 billion two years ago for a self-driving Silicon Valley start-up called Cruise Automation. Cruise began work on autonomous vehicles in 2013 and quickly developed an aftermarket kit that allowed buyers … [Read more...] about Holden Acadia: how new SUV fits into autonomous future
Prototype Porsche 911 RS likely to sell at auction for $NZ2.5m
It’s often referred to as the most dynamically rewarding Porsche 911 of all, the lightweight 2.7-litre Renne Sport (RS) of 1973 – and the early example pictured here is expected to fetch around NZ$2.5m when it goes under the hammer on October 27. Auction house RM Sothebys says it is the second of nine prototype RS models built before production of the RS proper began late in … [Read more...] about Prototype Porsche 911 RS likely to sell at auction for $NZ2.5m
Kiwi-built caravan opens door to new lifestyle on the road
A Christchurch company’s innovative design for a revolutionary caravan received scant media coverage in New Zealand when the concept was unveiled in 2012 – but now the world wants to know about it. Lifestyle websites in Britain, Germany and the USA are calling the ‘Romotow’ the first real reinvention of the caravan in more than 50 years. It was designed around the concept … [Read more...] about Kiwi-built caravan opens door to new lifestyle on the road