SPARE PARTS
Manual assists and automatic responses from the automotive world 30 WAYS CARS ARE CHANGING
Eco-Friendly Travel An American company has released a report on the toxic
chemicals that your typical vehicle releases, with the Honda Civic topping the list as the 'healthiest' car, while Mitsubishi's Outlander is at the bottom. It is the fourth consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars from the Ecology Centre, which provides information on sustainable living. The results are on the centre's website, HealthyStuff.org, with more than 200 of the most popular 2011 and 2012-model vehicles tested, using a portable x-ray fluorescence analyser, for chemicals that release gas from parts such as the
steering wheel, dashboard, armrests and seats. Source: APN
Features that are on the way out: 1. Wind-up windows 2. Spare tyres 3. Car keys
4. Owner's manual 5. Handbrakes 6. Cigarette lighters 7. CD players
8. Manual door locks 9. Hubcaps
10. The Sunday drive
Features that have already disappeared: 1. Pop-up headlights
2. Antennas
3. Cassette Decks 4. Shakers and air filters 5. Chokes 6. Four-wheel steering 7. Touch-up paint 8. Bench seat 9. Temperature gauge 10. Lap-only seatbelts
Wind-up windows
Cassette Decks
Features likely to go in the long-term: 1. Airbags
Spare a thought for tyres If you're buying a new car chances are you haven't thought much
about the spare tyre.
But Consumer Reports says that could come back to hurt you if you ever get a flat tyre, because many new cars don't have one. Instead of a spare and a jack, many new cars now come with just
a small air compressor and a sealant kit to fix a flat tyre. Source: CTV News
2. Rear-view mirrors 3. Engines 4. Tachometer 5. Manual gearbox 6. Buttons
7. Headlight-dip switches 8. Analog instruments 9. Leather
10. The driver Source: Sydney Morning Herald
Photos courtesy RM Auctions Airbags
Oldsmobile goes for $3.3million
A 1912 Oldsmobile, believed to be the only one of its kind still in existence, fetched $3.3 million (USD) at an auction in Florida.
The vintage car, an Olds Limited five-passenger touring, is thought to be one-of-a-kind as none of its now century-old contemporaries are known
to have survived in that trim. Source: Autoweek
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