Cars Australia

Drivers with an iPhone 14 or newer — including the latest iPhone 17 models — will be able to connect to NRMA Roadside Assistance via satellite, even when they’re beyond mobile coverage.

According to another article this will also work with various other roadside assistance providers:

Roadside Assistance via Satellite can be used in Australia to get help from NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAA, RAC, RACT, and AANT.

The New South Wales Government has introduced legislation to remove temporary speed limits in road work zones when outside of construction times.

Rather than forcing drivers to always slow down through road works – regardless of whether workers are on site or not – the new proposal will allow speeds to be raised when construction isn’t taking place.

However, in some cases, reduced speed limits will remain to ensure driver safety.

The NSW Government says it expects the change to be implemented next year following consultation with stakeholders this year.

The Queensland government says it's open to reviving a road rule which would allow Brisbane drivers to turn left at red lights.

It was previously trialled under the former Labor government, which axed it in 2021 amid safety concerns.

Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg says the government is seeking advice from the department on how the trial could be rolled out and what needs to be considered.

An analysis by insurance company AAMI of 480,000 claims over the past year shows 20 per cent of drivers admit they sometimes turn off features in the car that are designed to improve safety.

...

Of the 20 per cent who did disable the features, 69 per cent said it was because they found the safety features annoying, distracting, and too sensitive.

Twenty-three per cent said they did not think they needed safety assistance features, and 13 per cent said they did not trust them.

Hello, not sure if this is the right community but it's the closest I could find on Aussie.zone

I've been enjoying roadtripping in my Forester, but I'm contemplating whether I'd prefer to have a dedicated camper instead. I live at a place with only one parking spot for me, ruling out any caravans or camper trailers.

My main requirements would be compact (only as big as I need), sleeps 2 (ideally separately, even if it's a mattress on a table so mates aren't uncomfortable) and comfortable even in cold southern winters (down to 0°C). Niceties would be amenities like table and seats inside, small fridge, onboard water, cool if it had a shower.

So far, I've been thinking a ute with a slide on camper - my only real question is the solutions that have a pop top with canvas, would those be a pain in the ass to maintain and keep from ripping or degrading, and would they still insulate well?

Otherwise while I don't have much experience woodworking, I'd be open to converting a small van to a camper (there's a men's shed right next door to me that would help me out). I'd be open to converting the 2004 Forester, ripping out the rear seats, but I think I'd only have room for two narrow single beds in it.

My main motivation for this would be to have as an alternative to hotel rooms when I just want to travel a long distance and need somewhere to sleep, and I'd probably plan to travel for about 4-6 weeks a year average, plus the odd weekend camp here and there.

I've otherwise thought about a roof top tent with all the amenities like stove, prep bench, fridge etc. in the car but my concerns would be storing it out of the weather (wouldn't have enough room in my little room I'm renting) and insulation in cold temperatures. If those problems could be mitigated, I imagine this could be a cost effective option.

With all that, is there anything that I'm not thinking of as requirements or constraints, and other cheap options for what I'd like to do?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/47375877

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/22127648

Was a great trip and while it raised some eyebrows from ev sceptics it went off without a hitch.

Thought it was an informative video

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/63640571

After a “mud incident”, I need to re-grease one of my seat tracks.

Any idea which lubricant would be best for this? It is a toss-up between lithium grease or silicon spray.

Unrelated, but expected, there was a proudly displayed "Make america great again" red cap on the front, not visible because of the glass reflection. It is so weird how every owner of this kind of car I've seen has the exact personality I would expect. It's just a car, and yet, it's also a personality.

Anyway, there should be a sticker visible on the windshield right? If it is illegal is there a way to report it?

I realize now that I stupidly forgot to include the disabled sign in front of it. So I'm not sure that would be enough proof... Though you can still see the sign on the reflection of the super shiny metal (it's also weird that I've never seen one of those dirty from off road driving).

Somebody posted this on the other site, thought I'd link to

The age of average by Alex Murrell https://www.alexmurrell.co.uk/articles/the-age-of-average

Watch! the Reliant Robin
👉 https://youtu.be/QIgfjsAsd6U
KNOW about the famous 3-wheelers in the UK! Reliant Robins were little bastards to drive on but have become one of the most famous 3-wheelers in the UK and was produced in thousands and shipped worldwide until 1981
@80srewind @grew_up_in_the_70s_and_80s @cars@aussie.zone @cars@lemmy.ml @cars@lemmy.world

Australian motorsport is having quite the moment.

In Formula 1, Oscar Piastri, Daniel Ricciardo and Mark Webber have all excelled on the world stage in recent times.

Record crowds attended the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne earlier this month, and now another form of motor racing is accelerating in popularity — rally driving.

Their conclusion is use guilt as an emotional driver to decrease the popularity of these cars.

I disagree, design principles to shepherd the car companies into delivering all the classic traits car owners love in a safer( for everyone), more efficient product.

We don't need a fight here, or negativity, we need a better product, and let these people have less damaging fun.

G'day all. Having an internal debate atm and interested in other's thoughts. I'll try to keep context as brief as possible:

I currently have a 2009 GU patrol and a 2003 xtrail, would like to replace the xtrail in the short term and the GU within 5 years or so. Both vehicles are pretty solid and reliable, but showing their age. The GU is set up for camping in remote areas, which we do a lot of - it's definitely not a mall crawler. Been looking lately at the Pajero Sport as a replacement for the xtrail. Reasoning is it would be far better than the patrol for highway trips, my daughter and her boyfriend could use it to tag along with us on camping trips, and if push came to shove it could be a somewhat reasonable stand-in for the patrol, even if it doesn't go as far (not likely to invest in aux battery, rear drawer setup etc). The pajero sport could never replace the GU though, just in terms of packing space and roof load capacity - we camp in national parks a lot so we have to bring all our firewod in with us and it's not uncommon for me to have 100 kg on the roof. For my budget, I could get a 2020+ with under 100k, and reasonably well equipped if I hold out (which I'm doing). The plan so far has been to do that and then 5 years down the road look at replacements for the GU.

But a particular 200 has just popped up for sale. Appears to be very well maintained, and exceptionally well equipped. It's definitely been around, 270k, but one owner with full service history. Asking price $40k. 2013 model. I've gotta say, I'm seriously tempted. Neither my wife nor myself has much of a commute, so fuel costs of running a landcruiser and patrol are pretty negligible, and the additional costs in servicing both would be manageable until I can pay off the cruiser and trade the GU.

Am I crazy? I know it sounds that way for sure, but this particular cruiser is pretty special in terms of what's been put into it and the fact that it's a 12 year old car with a single owner and full history. At first I thought no way, but I think I'm starting to talk myself into it. Of course I'd pay for an inspection first.

I don't need anyone to make the decision for me, I'm going to do what I'm going to do. But I'm interested in hearing some perspectives. Given the spend is about the same, an exceptional (presumably) 270k 12 year old 200 series, or a 100k 5 yeard old pajero sport?

Cheers.

Huge news!

An investigation by consumer advocacy group Choice found most of Australia's popular car brands collect and share "driver data", ranging from braking patterns to video footage.

Kia and Hyundai collect voice recognition data from inside their cars and sell it to an artificial intelligence software training company.

Privacy and consumer rights advocates are pushing for law reform to limit data collection to what is "fair and reasonable".

The federal government is facing calls to respond to an effective ban on Chinese carmakers in the US with moves of its own.

Auto industry experts say any moves would be complicated, and risk slowing the pace of Australia's transition to electric vehicles.

The Albanese government says it is "closely monitoring" the moves in the US, and is in talks with the Biden administration about any local implications.

So mum drives a 2003 Nissan pulsar, n14 I think.

The new mechanic round the corner wants $250 for spark plug change and $400 for front brakes, which I hope is pads and rotors for that price.

I've only worked on old hiaces, spark plugs were $6ea, front pads were about $40 and rotors were $60ish. That totals about $125, double it for modern price gouging to $250, that leaves $400 for labor, which seems high to me.

Whaddya reckon?

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/11844585

After more than a year of significant renovations and upgrades, One Raceway – formerly known as Wakefield Park – will reopen on the first weekend of October 2024.

Speaking to Drive, brothers Greg and Steve Shelley revealed final preparations were taking place at the racetrack, with several test days taking place before the debut event.

Located near Goulburn, approximately halfway between Sydney and Canberra, One Raceway is now a 13-turn track – up from 10 – thanks to the addition of new banked corners.

https://www.drive.com.au/news/byd-under-fire-customers-in-vin-mixup/

Considering that the VIN number needs to be inspected and verified for each vehicle during the entire Import/Compliance/Distribution/Delivery process, this is a pretty big balls-up.