The people who know these things reckon the best time to experience the demands of test driving a car on ice is in the ‘golden hour’ at dawn – before and after the sun rises. Audi NZ is setting up such an experience on the slippery surfaces of the Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground, an automotive winter wonderland near Queenstown. The so-called Night Drive is … [Read more...] about Early morning glory on ice, Audi style
Spotlight
‘I bought this car before Elon lost his mind’
Tesla owners have become disillusioned with Elon Musk’s outspoken incursions into global politics, says the head of rival electric carmaker (EV) Polestar. An example of the discontent, said Michael Lohscheller, is the increasing appearance on Teslas of bumper stickers such as: “I bought this car before Elon lost his mind.” Or “I bought this car before Elon went crazy.” In … [Read more...] about ‘I bought this car before Elon lost his mind’
2024: Year of petrol-electric hybrids and Toyota’s 1:6:90 rule
It could be said that 2024 was the year of the petrol-electric hybrid (HEV) car, even though it has been around in one form or another for 28 years. Toyota pioneered it. Honda followed soon after. Others came much later. Each HEV saves on CO2 exhaust emissions. HEVs totalled a never-before 34,736 registrations in New Zealand last year, or 27.0% of the overall … [Read more...] about 2024: Year of petrol-electric hybrids and Toyota’s 1:6:90 rule
Feeding the dragon: Chinese cars eat into legacy brands
Chinese automotive brand JAC begins selling its T9 ute in New Zealand in a week or so, by which time China will have displaced Japan for the second year running as the world’s largest exporter of motor vehicles. JAC joins the dozen or so Chinese carmakers already here … more are on the way. One, Xpeng, already with its name down on NZ Government books as an electric vehicle … [Read more...] about Feeding the dragon: Chinese cars eat into legacy brands
EV gets 250km range from six-minute charge
Two celebrated car designers have collaborated with UK battery technology company Nyobolt to deliver a Lotus-lookalike electric sports car that can be fully charged from zero capacity in six minutes. The accelerated charge time is one of the benefits of advanced tungsten anode technology, which delivers 10 times more charging power than a conventional battery, says the … [Read more...] about EV gets 250km range from six-minute charge