Max Auto Updates - 14/06/2010

Doctors must warn SMSing drivers

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Physicians should tell patients not to send text messages or use cellphones while driving, just as they advise them against smoking or to use seat belts, a doctor said in the influential New England Journal of Medicine last Wednesday.

"It's time for us to ask patients about driving and distraction," Dr. Amy Ship of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston wrote in a featured commentary in the journal.

Hours before the journal was published, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved the Distracted Driving Prevention Act, which would provide incentives to states with distracted driving regulations.

"It's a proven fact that distracted driving causes thousands of deaths and injuries every year," said New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg, who co-sponsored the legislation.

The bill would offer federal grants to states that have restrictions on cellphone use and texting, and would require the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations on the use of wireless devices by commercial vehicle drivers.

Ship said keeping people off cellphones while they are behind the wheel was an important public safety health measure. "Not to ask - and not to educate our patients and reduce their risk - is to place in harm's way those we hope to heal," Ship wrote.

Ship cited growing evidence of the dangers that cellphones posed to people on the road. The National Safety Council has estimated that 28% of U.S. traffic accidents - 1.6 million - involve use of cellphones.

State bans

The most obvious problem is texting, where people use the cellphone keypad to send email or similar messages. A 2009 study concluded that texting while driving raised the risk of an accident by 23 times.

At least 28 U.S. states now ban texting while driving.

But Ship also urged doctors to tell their patients not to talk on cellphones while driving, and to lock them in the trunk during their trip if that is what it took to avoid the impulse to use them.

She said a 2006 study found that talking on a cellphone posed the same risk as driving while intoxicated, even if the driver was not holding the phone. "Driving while distracted is roughly equivalent to driving drunk," she wrote.

"In 98% of people, reaction time suffers dramatically," Ship said in a telephone interview after making sure the reporter was not driving during the call.

Ship said talking with a hands-free unit was more dangerous than to talking to someone in the car. "You're more engaged with your environment than when someone is not present," she said.

Listening to the radio or music is not the same kind of distraction. "One cannot tune out someone on the phone the way you can the radio," Ship said. "You don't have to reply to the radio."

Ship said doctors could play a key role in reducing cellphone-related accidents, just as a patient was more likely to quit smoking if a doctor spent three minutes discussing the risks of tobacco use.

"Although there are many possible distractions for drivers, more than 275 million Americans own cell phones, and 81 percent of them talk on those phones while driving," Ship wrote.

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New Scooby takes 'Ring record



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The most outrageous Subaru Impreza you can currently buy is the limited edition Cosworth fettled CS400. Problem is, it’s a hatchback – something which grates Impreza WRX STi traditionalists no end.

Ever since Subaru’s obsession with reserving its hallowed WRX STi moniker for the hatchback Impreza configuration became a marketing axiom for the enthusiast brand in 2008, things just have not been the same for legions of STi loyalists.

Scooby fans believe, with some justification, that all WRX STis should have their elite badging affixed to a boot, not a fifth door.

Putting the sedan back into STi

At this year's New York auto show Subaru showed off a four-door WRX STi again, which thrilled fans of the brand no end. Due for international release in the third quarter, we can only hope it will reach South Africa in the fullness of time.

Subaru’s just released footage of its latest four-door WRX STi undergoing final dynamic validation tests at the fabled Nurburgring. In the process of testing various trick bits for the forthcoming WRX STi, Subaru’s happened to break the Nurburgring lap record for sedan vehicles - which is quite a big deal.

The WRX STi in question admittedly featured a large capacity turbocharger and six-pot callipers sourced from the Japanese domestic market R205 Edition model, whilst a lightweight aluminium bonnet from a Spec C Impreza trimmed weight (slightly). They are all production roadcar parts though.

Better car, best driver

Thanks to these modifications the WRX STi’s engine output statistics were raised to 235kW and 431Nm for the ‘Ring record attempt.

As its stand the slightly modified WRX STi in question lapped the Nurburgring’s North Loop in 7:55 dead, which bests the previous record holder – Cadillac’s Corvette powered CTS-V.

In fact, the WRX STi can lay claim to having sullied the performance credentials of essentially each and every German performance sedan on the market, which should fans of AMG, the M-division and Audi’s RS badge a trifle upset.

You probably wonder who was at the helm during the WRX STi’s magic 7:55 run. Subaru’s says it was some Finnish chap by the name of Tommi Mäkinen, which just proves of how little consequence most ‘Ring lap-time comparisons are when you bring world-class driving talent into the equation.

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Media loves to hype recalls - missing big picture

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With Toyota's massive unintended acceleration recall, you'd think 2009 would be the "Year of the Recall." Think again. Only 15,388,697 vehicles were recalled last year - a far cry from the 37,922,808 vehicles that were recalled in 2000.

So why the sudden surge of recall coverage? Short term memory, poorly designed vehicles or media hype? You could argue that when a car is recalled, it shows some bad engineering by an automaker. However, the reality is most recalled vehicles will never experience a problem. Cars are recalled for your safety - the 1 in a 1,000,000 chance that a seat belt could come undone during an evasive maneuver. Take Chrysler's latest recall, the wiring in the door of the Dodge Grand Caravan / Chrysler Town & Country could become stripped, short out, and cause a fire. It's unlikely to happen, but Chrysler's playing it safe and recalling every model that could be affected.

There's always been hype around recalls, but 'PedalGate' just amplified things. No one's really sure what caused the issue to happen, but the U.S. Government has already slapped Toyota with fines. Now every automaker is trying to play it safe and acknowledge any potential problem before an incident occurs. In the old days, there'd be a simple TSB (technical service bulletin) which consumers would rarely notice. Now with the threat of class action lawsuits, automakers don't want to been seen "hiding" defects. They simply recall the vehicle, take a PR hit, and hope for the best. Is it fair? Probably not, but what's the alternative?

Compiled by InsideLine.com, below is a chart of the number of recalls in the past 20 years. InsideLine heartily points out that despite some years clearly more active than others, there's no obvious trend of recalls on the rise. But perhaps the media taking the liberty to report more recalls is "the only real trend."

Year	# of Recalls	Potential # of Affected Vehicles
1990	81	5,483,937
1991	92	5,006,827
1992	73	6,261,951
1993	80	7,473,235
1994	111	5,271,119
1995	101	16,151,571
1996	137	21,826,395
1997	122	13,744,386
1998	144	15,954,501
1999	149	22,657,262
2000	228	37,922,808
2001	159	28,630,709
2002	136	19,470,825
2003	167	18,575,862
2004	220	29,835,327
2005	152	17,948,511
2006	157	10,974,000
2007	144	13,499,501
2008	168	9,039,333
2009	175	15,388,697

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Diesels planned for next generation EVO & STI

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Both Mitsubishi and Subaru are planning diesel variants of their respective EVO and STi models.

For Mitsubishi, the story seems a little peculiar, and perhaps one that warrants some skepticism. According to an Autocar report, the brand has considered scrapping the Lancer Evolution model altogether, while also ditching plans for a petrol-hybrid version, and has instead settled on producing the model as diesel-electric hybrid only.

Turning the EVO into a diesel-only offering would keep it out of most motor-sport competition and also make it a difficult sell in diesel-averse markets such as Japan and the United States. The apparent motivation is to keep its CO2 emissions to below the 200 g/km mark.

The new diesel-electric set up would allow the future EVO to do the 0-100 km/h sprint in under five seconds. The model would continue to use the S-AWC all-wheel drive system that makes the EVO such a performer.

As for the Impreza STi, Subaru is planning on a diesel version for the next-generation of the model due out in 2012. The engine would be a power-boosted version of the 2.0 liter diesel currently in the Impreza lineup.

Sources also tell Autocar that Subaru may downsize the STi's current four-cylinder, turbocharged power plant to a 1.5 liter unit - which would also leave the storied model out of most rally competitions.

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GM backtracks on dropping the 'Chevy' nickname



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GM is now backtracking on a memo it sent out to employees at its global headquarters in Detroit last week.

In the original memo, employees were discouraged from using the "Chevy" nickname for the Chevrolet brand. GM later issued a statement to clarify the intention of the memo, saying that it was only meant to help establish Chevrolet as a global brand and that employees needed to be more focused in their communications in referencing the brand.

GM said in a statement that it likes the Chevy nickname, which it has used in advertisements for decades.

In a video also issued by GM to correct itself, Alan S. Batey, vice president for Chevrolet sales and service, said, "Chevy is our nickname. It comes from selling vehicles here in the U.S. for 100 years. We love it when people call us Chevy." Batey was one of the two GM officials who signed the original memo.

GM has, in fact, been quite successful over the last few years at building Chevrolet into a global brand.

"Chevrolet is one of the fastest growing brands in the world today. We sell in over 130 countries around the world. For every vehicle we sell in the U.S. we sell two overseas," said Batey in the video.

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Land Rover Defender by Aznom



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Aznom and Romeo Ferraris have teamed up to create a modified Land Rover Defender.

Despite looking rather conservative, Aznom equipped the SUV with carbon fiber bumpers, a two-tone matte paint job, red accents, and black wheels with Kumho Road Venture tires. Inside, the cabin boasts alcantara upholstery, a carbon fiber steering wheel, Sparco sport seats, and carbon fiber trim.

Under the hood, Romeo Ferraris tweaked the 2.4-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder engine to produce 113 kW - an increase of 22 kW. While no performance data was released, the upgrade should help to move the Defender with a little extra oomph.