AUTO MANIA: by Dr. Iain Corness [email protected]

Chinese GP this weekend

Shanghai.

The Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai this weekend, and also in Pattaya the start of the Songkran festival. This national ‘sport’ kills around 600 participants each year. Songkran that is, not the Grand Prix.
So what has that got to do with the Chinese GP? Everything. The ‘festivities’ are such that traffic can come to a halt on the main day, but remember Songkran Sunday is not the main day - that is Friday 19, called “Wan lai”.
On Sunday 14, some businesses close their doors; however, Jameson’s Irish Pub is not one of those on this Sunday with Landlord Kim Fletcher advising me that they will be open. He also advises that the best way to approach the pub is from Sukhumvit or North Roads, wriggle past the Diana Gardens Estate, cross Third Road and come into Soi AR that way. If it doesn’t work, then Kim Fletcher will be singing boy soprano.
The race will start at 2 p.m. Thai time on Sunday, and we watch the dedicated F1 channel (no adverts during the race) in front of the huge screen at Jameson’s! I will allow myself a little longer traveling time, just in case, but the Grand Prix and the Sunday specials together are too good to miss. Jameson’s is right next to Nova Park, if you are unsure.
At this stage, the Championship table shows that the old order from 2010 and 2011 is no longer there. Red Bull, after two years of being on top of the heap, now finds itself fighting for firsts! (And between their two drivers!) “Lotus” looked fast in Australia, giving Raikkonen the win, but then in Malaysia they were nowhere near the top. Ferrari, with what is undoubtedly a better car than last year has both Massa and Alonso in contention. Mercedes appears to be more competitive this year, and when they work out which of their drivers is the faster, things will be easier for the pit wall and Ross Brawn.

What’s in a name?

Analysis by MoneySuper market.com reveals that the type of car you drive is not just a matter of personal choice, but can also be influenced by your name. The UK’s number one comparison site analyzed 17 million car insurance searches through its site and has come up with cars people are most likely to drive based on their name.
For example, anyone called Stephen will most likely drive a Land Rover, while Jessica is most likely to drive a Ferrari. (I only know one Jessica and she is too young to drive, damn!)
Celebrities have a penchant for fast cars. Surprisingly the analysis shows men with the name Justin are most likely to drive Porsches. In reality, this isn’t worlds apart from Justin Bieber’s real choice of motor, which is a Fisker Karmer - a luxury hybrid car.
The research also found that Damiens and Vincents are the names most likely to drive a Porsche, whereas Jades and Garys have the highest affinity with Ford brands. Moving off-road, Bruce and Donald are more likely to own Jeeps, while Nigel and Roger will have an affinity towards Land Rovers. Those who topped the chart of souped-up Subaru drivers are called Shane, Dale and Carly, while those most likely to drive Skoda’s have more sensible names such as Norman, Roland and Valerie. The research found the names highly associated with Jaguars are Bernard, Malcolm, Audrey and Janet, while someone called Jeremy is most likely to drive an Aston Martin - taking after Mr Clarkson himself!
Peter Harrison, car insurance expert at MoneySupermarket said, “So what’s really in a name? When it comes to driving a car, your name does actually influence the type of car you are most likely to drive according to our analysis. While celebrities and sports personalities are being photographed getting out of the latest luxury vehicles, our analysis shows that some of their namesakes may also have a preference for nice cars, despite the having a very different lifestyle.

Does Sir want some Chanel this morning?

M-B S Class.

In what must be the ultimate extravagance, Mercedes-Benz S Class models will have a liquid perfume dispenser among its offerings of high-tech devices and fittings. Similar to the liquid deodorant dispensers in the local loo, this item fills the cabin with your chosen odor from an electronic fitting in the glove-box.
According to a Mercedes spokeswoman in Stuttgart you can have whatever smell you want (for a price of course). “Old Money” might be appropriate!
However, the (non)essential extra items include a hot stone massager in the back seats. Built in consultation with aromatherapists and psychologists, it uses the seat’s 14 separately-activated air bladders with the seat heating function.
Even the armrests in an interior designed to suggest a luxury jet cabin or six star hotel suite are heated so the skin is not insulted by cold leather. Make that a delete option for Thailand’s tropical weather!
M-B S Class lets you remain fully wired with a cloud system, which integrates Facebook, Google Street View, and Google searches for local points of interest through a mouse. These can be surveyed from rear seats and the driver, or chauffeur, can view his instruments and infotainment system via two laptop size information displays.
According to the factory, a new S Class only comes every 10 years and is the vehicle in which they introduce the new technologies. Mercedes spokesman Michael Allner said these luxuries would filter down to affordable cars in the range over the next decade.
Just remembered that my Daihatsu Mira smells of dead socks after the rain. Perhaps I should consider it a luxury!

Want a new Lexus LFA?

If you have just decided to buy a new Lexus LFA Supercar, then I am afraid you are a little late. They have all gone and no more are being built.
Whitest white LFA chassis No 493 has just been delivered to a customer in Switzerland and 40 out of the 500 produced LFA have been delivered to clients in Europe, including 4 LFA with Nürburgring Package. Germany was the largest market in Europe (15 units), followed by Switzerland (6), UK (5), the Netherlands (4) and France (3). A European customer was the only client in the world to purchase three LFA, and two others ordered a second unit after receiving their first delivery. (That I find inexplicable, unless they want to make sure they have one to drive when the first goes for service.)
The last LFA to a European customer marked the end of sales of the supercar, which has been built at the rate of one car per day between 15 December 2010 and 14 December 2012.
The proud owner of LFA No 493 is Nicolas Schilling, a long-time friend of Japan and an exporter of French and Italian wines to Lexus’ homeland, who opened one of the first gastronomic Japanese restaurants in Switzerland. “I was first impressed by the LFA’s design, but it was when I heard the sound of the engine of this breath-taking machine that I knew it was my dream car,” he said. “To me, the LFA stands for far-reaching innovative technology, absolute passion and determination, all dressed-up in pure elegance. It’s a world-class vehicle.”
So there you are - you’re too late!

Motor show skin changes

New Vios.

Nissan had plenty of their March eco-cars on display at the Motor Show: The pictures reveal a redesigned front end with a version of Nissan’s current corporate grille with a strange chrome V.
A restyled front bumper with chrome lining, new fog lights and redesigned two-tone black and chrome headlights are the most obvious changes to the March.
They also had one very tricked up version on the stand, complete with wide alloys and flares. I asked if it could be purchased like that, but no - however, the sales chap assured me that all the ‘go faster’ items could be purchased separately. A rear spoiler is a new addition, and the tiny runabout also gets restyled taillights and a different bumper.

Nissan March.

The switch from Indonesian production also means that the March is no longer available (export markets only) with the 1.5 liter four cylinder engine but only with the 56 kW 1.2 liter three cylinder unit.
Nissan has done very well with the sales of the March (Micra in some markets) both here and overseas. In Australia, for example, Nissan shifted 923 units in the first two months of the year. The Suzuki Alto in second has sold 519 units.
However, the March/Micra faces stiff competition overseas in the form of the newly released Mitsubishi Mirage hatch, which has sold 1688 units in the first two months of this year.
Another face-lifted popular vehicle at the show was the Toyota Vios, with the grille getting even closer to the larger Corolla. Mechanically I believe the new Vios is very similar to the model it supersedes.

Autotrivia Quiz

Last week I asked which ground bird had an association with sports car racing! I was thinking of the Chapparal which is the road runner, however, frequent quiz entrant Pat Weir reminded me that the McLaren cars had a kiwi on them, also a ground bird. Well doe Pat, three correct in a row.
So to this week. This car has a V12 engine with Traction Avant. It is French. What is it?
For the Automania free beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected].