A nationwide survey of public car park parking spaces carried out by Semperit Tyres has highlighted a significant number of spaces that are narrower than the recommended guidelines.
In its guidelines for car park layout, Dublin City Council states that a parking space should not be less than 2.4m wide. However, when Semperit surveyed 20 of Ireland’s most popular car parks in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, almost 1 in 5 (19 percent) of the spaces measured were narrower than the recommended.
‘Narrow’ car park spaces were found at each location surveyed, and some of the results show a significant discrepancy from Dublin City Council’s recommended width of 2.4m: 1.85m at Brown Thomas car park in Dublin; 1.89m at City Hall, Cork; 1.9m at Grand Parade in Cork, Arthur’s Quay in Limerick and Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin; 2.2m in Eyre Square in Galway and ILAC in Dublin; and 2.1m at Dublin Airport.
A refreshed 2009 Mazda MX-5 soft top and Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe marks the 20th anniversary of the world's best-selling sports car.
External changes include a new five-point lower air intake that visually aligns the Mazda MX-5 with the Mazda6, Mazda2, all-new Mazda3 and Mazda RX-8 R3. There are new head- and tail-lights, front foglamp housings, restyled front and rear bumpers and more prominent side sills.
The exterior modifications result in a slipperier and more aerodynamic shape, lowering the soft-top aerodynamic drag to Cd 0.38 and that of the Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe to Cd 0.36.
There have been changes inside, including new faces for the instruments, silvered climate control dials and a brushed aluminium panel that runs the length of the dashboard.
Stiffer door modules and additional sound insulation materials provide a 2.7 dB drop in cabin noise levels compared to the outgoing model.
Depending on market, MX-5 customers will now have a choice of four powertrains – the 126ps 1.8i; the higher-revving 160ps 2.0i with five-speed gearbox; the 160ps 2.0i with a revised six-speed manual gearbox; and the new 160ps 2.0i ‘PowerShift’ six-speed sequential paddle-shift transmission with full-auto mode.
When James Bond is buzzing around town in his next adventure, it's possible he will be doing so in a city car by Aston Martin.
Don't scoff. The Gaydon UK based maker of luxury sports cars has come up with a car called Cygnet, which it describes as 'a new luxury commuter concept'.
The Cygnet is based on a Toyota iQ, with a redesigned front end and plushed and wooded interior.
July is the most lethal month of the year to use Ireland's roads, according to the Road Safety Authority.
In the ten year period 1999 to 2008 a total of 376 lives have been lost during the month of July. With an average of 38 people dying each July, this makes it the killer month of the year.
Throughout July there are added dangers as school children are on holidays and with the finer weather and longer hours of daylight more people are walking and cycling on the roads. In addition, more people are travelling to and from sporting, cultural and social events and there are increasing numbers of Irish and foreign visitors touring the country.
The RSA has issued a special appeal to motorcyclists, who are at greater risk over the summer months. The advent of warm weather brings more motorcyclists out on to the road and it is imperative that correct helmets, protective clothing, boots and gloves are worn and that motorcyclists are driven in a mature and responsible way, the organisation's Chief Executive Noel Brett says.
The appeal was issued as two motorcyclists died in separate accidents at the weekend.
Citroen is planning to have the new generation C3 supermini in Ireland in December in time for the traditional peak buying time.
The new car will have its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
It retains the rounded styling cues of the current car, but is completely new. A key feature of the car is a very deep windscreen which comes right back over the front occupant section.
Citroen has also devised a new interior which the company says is of very high quality.
The British government body that exists to promote business innovation in technology announced yesterday that a consortium led by BMW Group will be supported by a proportion of a £25m fund, enabling the MINI E to be introduced and tested on British roads by a mixture of private, corporate and public sector drivers before the end of 2009.
This follows an announcement in April when the British Government said it would support motorists by providing help worth £2,000-£5,000 towards buying their first electric or plug-in hybrid car when they hit the showrooms.
BMW Group has announced that MINI E will go on a twelve-month field trial in Germany and the USA this year, to evaluate the technical and social aspects of living with an all-electric vehicle in a real world environment and plans to include the UK in this programme.
So this week started and ended in the crazy country they call Pakistan! The first thing to hit us all was the wall of heat as soon as we landed in Karachi, but it wasn’t long before we found our air conditioned minibus and we could actually breathe again. This is when we were introduced to our local guide Amjad and our bus driver Arshad. Nicest and funniest guys ever!
As we drove through the city we couldn’t help but notice the crazy driving antics of the locals. Everybody just drives all over the place and beeps constantly. Not for the faint-hearted (Sara!). The next crazy thing was the local buses decorated to the nines, multicoloured designs, tassels, the lot. The hippies would be proud...!
After checking into our hotel the first thing we did was head to the beach, where there was the very welcoming sight of MacDonald’s. Mmm. So, after we all filled our bellies, we headed towards the shore to find an entourage of camels awaiting our arrival. Most of us decided it was a good idea to go for a bumpy ride across the beach, which gave us all a good laugh!
Later that night we decided to go for a group meal on Barbeque Tonight rooftop restaurant. It was a delicious buffet of local food, spicy to say the least! After getting back to the hotel we all enjoyed a cold beer (well deserved after the six-day drought in Iran! Seriously!)
The next morning we headed for the town of Multan. Here we picked up an army of policemen armed with loaded machine guns and the works. They were apparently there for security purposes, but to be honest they just caused more of a hassle than anything else. When we arrived at our hotel they had the whole street closed off and no other guests were allowed to use the hotel just because we were there. A bit much, if you ask us! In saying that, though, they were all friendly, and just making sure nothing went wrong for us.
Our next stop was the city of Lahore where we had three days to wander and explore the city however we pleased. Some of us visited a fort, a museum and a mosque in the first morning, which was interesting, while some of the others chilled out in the hotel watching movies, a privilege we don’t have most of the time! In the evening the group went to Wagha on the Pakistan/India border to watch the flag-changing ceremony between the two countries. The atmosphere was brilliant and it was hilarious to see the over-the-top marching (think the 'Ministry of Silly Walks'!!) and the locals on each side chanting for their countries, really enjoyed by all!
The second day we visited Lahore Zoo. The animals were really cute, but it was really sad to see them kept in such confined spaces, especially in the heat. The third day we wandered up and down the streets in the scorching heat, did some shopping in the local mall, played some air hockey at the local arcade and in the evening we ventured to the bazaar and the Liberty Market where we did more shopping! Girls will be girls!
Overall, we loved Pakistan and all it has to offer. The people were so friendly and generally really inquisitive. We posed for so many pictures, we felt like celebs by the time we were leaving! It's a place we’d all recommend tourists to visit. Despite what we hear on the news and read in the papers, it is a lovely place to visit and has so much culture to offer, as well as being really cheap -- which always helps!
Next on our list is India, which we're sure will have plenty to keep us entertained. So until then ...
Ford Ireland has launched a van variant of its Kuga compact SUV.
The vehicle is based on the Zetec specification Kuga in its AWD version.
According to Eddie Murphy, Chairman and Managing Director of Ford Ireland, the Kuga Commercial carries none of the negative trappings of a conventional van.
"It’s scarcely recognisable as a commercial vehicle, with its high external spec and ‘kinetic design’ styling," he says. "At the same time the presence of all wheel-drive means it’s a gritty worker when the need arises.”
The Kuga Commercial is powered by the 2.0 TDCi Duratorq 136hp powertrain.
Standard specification includes ESP, six airbags, and air conditioning. It is available from €27,800 including VAT.
Gareth McHale with his navigator Brian Murphy celebrate Gareth's first win in the Topaz Donegal International Rally as they are congratulated by Gareth's Father Austin, a multiple winner of the event during his rallying career. Photo Clive Wasson.
The Road Safety Authority has issued advice for drivers towing another vehicle, including a caravan or maybe a boat trailer.
Caravans increase the fuel consumption of a car, decrease its acceleration and braking ability, and can affect a vehicle’s general control, according to the Authority.
Drivers are remined that the maximum permitted speed limit for a vehicle towing a caravan or trailer is 80km/h. They are also asked to pay particular attention when accelerating and braking, especially when approaching corners.
Leave more distance than usual between yourself and the vehicle in front, and allow plenty of extra time and space if entering traffic.
Allow more time and distance when overtaking other road users and ensure you are well past them before moving back to the left hand side of the road again.
Never let passengers travel in the caravan or towing trailer when it’s being towed. Ensure the load in the caravan is correctly distributed, to reduce the chance of the caravan swaying.
For more information visit the RSA’s website to download the new leaflet ‘Road Safety Advice for tourists Towing Caravans or Trailers’ or visit www.rulesoftheroad.ie to view the regulations on towing vehicles.
BMW has announced two additional, extra-economical low-emission engine variants of the 1 Series Coupé as of September 2009.
The BMW 120i Coupé and the BMW 118d Coupé are two new entry-level versions of the two-door featuring a petrol and a diesel engine.
The new BMW 120i Coupé is powered by a 2.0 petrol developing 170hp which can accelerate the car from zero to 100 km/h in 7.8 seconds. Average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle is 6.6 L/100km.
The BMW 118d Coupé has a 2.0 diesel with 143hp and 300Nm of torque. Fuel consumption is 4.5 L/100km and and CO2 emissions are 119g/km.
Irish prices for the new BMW 1 Series Coupe variants are 118d ES €33,450, 118d SE €35,420, 118d M Sport €38,870, 120i ES €37,520, 120i SE €39,620, and 120i M Sport €43,170.
BMW has launched the new BMW 316d Saloon, which goes on sale in Ireland in September priced at €37,31.
The BMW 316d is powered by a 1,995cc four-cylinder diesel engine that records 4.5 l/100km (62.8mpg) on the combined cycle. With CO2 of 118g/100km, the vehicle becomes the most fuel efficient and cleanest BMW 3 Series ever.
The engine outputs 116hp, with torque of 260Nm. The car can reach 100 km/h in 10.9 seconds.
The specification includes air-conditioning, multi-function leather steering wheel, front and rear ISOFIX child seat attachments, front foglights and the complete suite of BMW EfficientDynamics technologies as standard.
At a recent reception at The K Club, Audi Ireland showcased the new Audi A5 Cabriolet, which will feature at The Curragh on the occasion of their continued sponsorship of the Group 1, Audi Pretty Polly Stakes.
Pictured are Sarah Morrissey and Karen Fitzpatrick with the New A5 Cabriolet at The K Club. Saturday the 27th, Audi Pretty Polly Stakes day is also Ladies Day.
Toyota Ireland says that owners of Toyota and Lexus cars bought at the Tom Hogan Motors dealership continue to carry the group's full manufacturer's warranty.
David Shannon, Managing Director, Toyota Ireland added that any service needs customers may have can be dealt with through the Toyota and Lexus Dealer network. Customers can also contact Toyota Ireland Customer Relations on 01 4190200.
"It is sad to see a company of the calibre of Tom Hogan Motor Group being forced into liquidation as a result of the extraordinarily difficult economic climate in which the country finds itself," Mr Shannon said.
Gareth McHale scored his first ever international win on last weekend’s Topaz Donegal International Rally, round five of the International Rally Championship.
The young Dublin driver finished 50 seconds ahead of Tarmac championship leader Eugene Donnelly. Eamon Boland the current Tarmac champion retired on the penultimate stage while holding second place.
McHale driving his Ford Focus lead from start to finish and was fastest driver on 11 of the twenty stages. He ended the 15-year Ford drought on this rally, and he was the first driver from the south of Ireland to win since his father Austin scored his second victory in 1998.
This victory puts Gareth up to second place in the championship with forty six points, fourteen behind Eugene Donnelly. With three rounds remaining and bonus points available on the final round , this championship race is very open.
Donnelly driving his usual Skoda Fabia WRC finished second. The Maghera man was third for most of the rally and when Eamon Boland retired Donnelly inherited second to add to his victories in Galway, Circuit of Ireland and Jim Clark. Donnelly continues to lead the championship with 60 points.
Significantly Eamon Boland was the only driver to challenge Mc Hale. The 2009 champion was second from stage one until he retired with a blown engine in his Subaru on stage 19, one from the end.
Boland trailed McHale by as little as nine seconds by mid-rally ,but that gap had expanded to 40seconds at the end of stage 18. With this retirement Boland drops to fourth place in the championship, the Wexford man is now twenty six points behind leader Donnelly.
Tim Mc Nulty arrived in Donegal, second in the championship and fresh from his win in the Lakes and second in the Jim Clark. And while he had only one fastest time, he was fourth at the end of days one and two, but never far behind Donnelly. The Meath driver retired his Subaru after a puncture on stage sixteen. Mc Nulty now third in the championship is ten points behind McHale with Donnelly twenty four points ahead. Alastair Fisher was leading the Group N section of the Tarmac Championship at the start of the rally, but clutch failure forced retirement and he now slips to third place. Alan Carmichael finished third and moves into a narrow lead over Ger O’Donovan who now moves into second place in the category. Local driver Damien Tourish won the category and now lies fourth in the championship. There is little between all these drivers at the moment and the category could go right down to the wire.
The best 2WD car was once again Daragh O’Riordan, this time driving an Opel Corsa. The Corkman is now an amazing fifth overall helped by the bonus points structure introduced into the championship for the first time this year.
Another innovation in thus year’s championship is the Modified Challenge. Wesley Patterson had another win in Donegal and becomes the inaugural Modified Challenge winner. The Escort Mk2 driver had a maximum score thanks to category wins in Galway, Circuit, Lakes and Donegal. In the Historic section Derek Boyd was victorious once again in the 911 to put him in a stronger position in the championship.
The next round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship will be the Isle of Man Rally International Rally held on July 10th and 11th. The two day 175 mile event is round six of the Irish Tarmac championship and also a round of the British Rally Championship.
The ninth generation of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class has been launched in Ireland.
The first version to arrive here is the four-cylinder, 170bhp E220 CDI which comes on the market at €43,600 for the manual, and €46,450 for the automatic.
Two further models will arrive in September - the E200 CDI and E200 CGI Kompressor.
All manual transmission E-Class diesels fall into Band B with annual road tax of €156 with all automatic versions coming in Band C with road tax of €302 per annum.
The E220 CDI is powered by a 2.2-litre, bi-turbo, common rail direct injection engine which delivers 400Nm of torque and can accelerated to 100km/h in 8.0 seconds. It has fuel consumption of 6.9 litres/100km (urban cycle) and a CO2 rating of 139g/km.
Standard safety features includes a drowsiness detection system that uses feedback from over 70 sensors to monitor behaviour and alert the driver when the time to take a break becomes evident.
Plans are in the works to install cell phone coverage across the British capital's transport system ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Communications minister Lord Carter has put the idea of mobile coverage on the London Underground back on the government agenda—only months after it emerged a planned Tube mobile trial had been shelved indefinitely.
I guess we haven't travelled enough in London recently to realise there's a problem. From Business Week.
Ireland has been ranked the 6th safest country out of the 27 EU Member States, in terms of road safety, in an EU report.
The report published today by the Brussels based European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) based its findings on Ireland’s road safety performance in 2008 when 279 people died on Irish roads.
The announcement sees Ireland improve its standing in the table of best performing EU countries from 9th position in 2007.
Some 39,000 people were killed in road collisions in 2008 in the EU27 countries, 15,400 fewer fatalities than in 2001
The safety performance of a country is measured by the number of deaths that occur for every million people in the population. In 2008 Ireland recorded 63 road deaths per million population. This represents an improvement of 41 percent from 107 people killed per million inhabitants in 2001.
Audi has won the overall award in the Thatcham vehicle security tests for the fourth consecutive year.
The tests are carried out at the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre in Thatcham under the auspices of the British Insurance Vehicle Security Awards.
There is no comparable test in Ireland.
In categories, the A4 range was voted most secure in the compact executive class, the S8 best in performance car class, and the A5 Cabriolet won through in the open-top class.
Following successful trials in the UK, the zero-emission, smart fortwo electric drive is ready for small series production.
Reaction from customers taking part in the UK trial, including the Metropolitan Police, universities, local councils, architects and energy companies, has proved so encouraging that smart’s parent company, Daimler AG, can confirm that the smart electric drive will go into small series production in early 2010.
The second generation smart electric drive will also be taking part in projects in Rome, Milan and Paris. Several cities in the US are also due to start trials of the fully electric car and the invaluable feedback will be incorporated into the development of future production models.
Featuring a lithium-ion battery the second generation smart electric drive’s power source will have a longer range and a shorter charging time.
Peugeot's 1.6 petrol engine has taken top honours for the third consecutive year in the 1.4 to 1.8 category at the 2009 International Engine of the Year Awards, ahead of the Toyota Prius powertrain.
The 1.0 petrol engine, built by Toyota and fitted to the Peugeot 107 as well as Citroen's C1 and Toyota's Aygo, also won its category, 100 points ahead of the second placed Smart diesel engine.
Introduced in 2007 on the Peugeot 207, the 1.6 petrol engine was designed by PSA Peugeot in co-operation with the BMW Group.
The blame and responsibility for driving while tired lies completely with the driver, according to a sleep research expert.
Professor Jim Horne of Loughborough University told a recent Dublin conference on 'Road Safety at Work' that 'not remembering' falling asleep at the wheel is no excuse, because such drivers do know at the time that they are sleepy.
He also debunked other potential defences in 'sleep-driving' incidents. Dull roads, for instance, so not cause sleepiness, he said. But they do 'unmask' it.
And he added that so-called 'highway hypnosis' has no basis in law. "It is just another name for sleepiness," he told participants at the conference, which was organised jointly by the Road Safety Authority and the Health & Safety Authority.
These are the first interior pictures of the Opel Astra, which will debut at this September’s Frankfurt Motor Show and come to Ireland in January of next year.
The Astra’s interior employs the recurring wing and blade motifs that were first introduced in the Insignia.
The dashboard has a black, grained finish with a subtly different texture to other mouldings in the cabin.
The centre panel is mounted at a shallow 30-degree angle, which sweeps down from the top of the instrument panel to the centre console.
The driver's seat height can be raised by up to 65mm, while their fore and aft range extends to 280mm.
Alcohol dramatically increases the effects of driver fatigue, even in small amounts well under the legal limit.
That's the blunt view from Professor Jim Horne of the Sleep Research Laboratory at Loughborough University in Britain.
He told a conference on 'Road Safety at Work' that even a blood alcohol level of one-eighth of the legal limit triples the likelihood of a crash during the driver fatigue 'dangerous' times of early morning or mid-afternoon.
He also said that younger drivers are more likely to crash in the early morning due to driver fatigue, while the danger time for older people is in the afternoon.
He said humans were 'designed' to sleep twice a day, at night and in the afternoon.
The latest figures on car sales for May suggest that the sales result for the year will be little more than 60,000 units.
That's the view of Ford Ireland MD Eddie Murphy, who said today that a smaller decrease in May than in preceding months was 'no comfort'.
"We’re facing a fall of 65 percent for the entire year," the Ford boss said. Along with other elements in the motor trade, Mr Murphy has consistently called for a scrappage scheme to boost sales.
The calls were equally consistently ignored by the Government. In Germany, France and Italy, and more recently in Britain, scrappage schemes have resulted in significantly increased sales.
Despite the tough times, Ford of Europe is working hard on getting some new models off the ramps.
The first ones will be the new Focus and C-MAX MPV which are scheduled for launch next year. We'll likely see the near-to-production concepts at Paris, based on the Iosis-X showcar that was on display at Geneva this year.
A Fiesta-based MPV will follow, and in 2011 there are reports of a 3-door coupe version of the Kuga 4x4 upcoming, as well as a larger SUV based on the current compact.
It's Week Three of our intrepid trio's journey by bus to Sydney, and it turned out to be more than they had bargained for!
Hey all ...
Well this week was definitely an unbelievable week as we got caught up in the presidential elections and the first serious riots in Iran in 30 years ... they were obviously waiting for our arrival! And we thought the blog would be unachievable as internet, SMS and international calls were blocked!
However we began our week in the surreal Goreme, Turkey. This is where Star Wars was filmed and really is like being on another planet. The whole town was formed from volcanic ash over 7,000 years ago and people made their homes out of the rocks that form the town. We stayed in a hostel, The Flintstones, where we slept in caves (with en suites!).
On Monday we were picked up at 5am by Kapadokya Balloons to go out on a hot air balloon ride. The balloon fitted all 20 of us and we got the very lovely pilot Mike Green who brought us 700 kilometres above sea level and told us about the sights we were seeing. The ride was without a doubt magical! The scenery is so beautiful. Afterwards we were treated to champagne and cake (this was at 7 in the morning!) and we all got a certificate to say we did the ride.
We headed back to the hostel and now it was time for abseiling and trekking. The trekkers walked over 7 kilometres and didn’t get back until 7pm. As for the abseilers ... well, that was a bit of a riot. We were brought to this huge jagged rock! And when we say rock, we mean we’ve seen smaller mountains! Just the climb up it was enough to terrify a few of us. At the top there were tears and some people couldn’t go through with the abseil down, whilst the rest of us attempted it which resulted in screams from one particular trio member that could be heard for miles around! Our only regret was that we didn’t catch her on film!
After a long day and a cool beer to calm some nerves we headed to the very lovely Fat Boys for some traditional lentil soup made by Grandma and a barbeque chicken dinner, all for only €5. On Tuesday morning we left early for Erzincan just stopping for the night to continue to Dogubeyazit the following night. Again just stopping for the night so we could get to the Iranian border for Thursday morning.
This is where we had to put on the kaftans and headscarves, and wow did we all look a right state! When we were buying our kaftans we all chose bright pinks and blues and greens and purples, not realising that all the women in Iran only wear all black! It was so embarrassing. Fifteen of us walking around looking like something out of a circus. Children pointed and laughed.Women skitted. And men were curious to know where we were from.
The first couple of days in Iran were different and we couldn’t figure out what people do for fun except for playing chess and drinking tea and visiting mosques!! Also the toilets or squats are still taking a bit of getting used to as they are literally a hole in the ground. We stayed in the 4-star Enghelab Hotel in Tehran and went for a meal in their rotating restaurant on the 16th floor.
Just as we finished our meal we noticed several fires around the city and that’s when the riots started. The streets were filled with liberal protestors marching and chanting that the elections were rigged. We weren’t allowed to leave our hotel so we watched from our hotel rooms. On our televisions BBC World was broadcasting the images we were witnessing. Very quickly the internet was down, our phones stopped working and BBC World was no longer available on our televisions.
This went on into the night, but we had to continue our journey. So the next morning we left for Esfahan and stopped at the National Museum of Tehran and the Glass Museum. We arrived at Ali Quapu Hotel on Sunday evening and wandered around the quiet town. The next morning the whole group visited the Ali Quapu Palace, the 40 Columns, a Christian church and Imam Square, stopping at the tea rooms for a cuppa! At 4 o’clock the protests started again … this time right outside our hotel!
The doorman allowed us to stand on the hotel steps and be a part of history. Iranian people came to us and told us why they were protesting and told us to 'tell our countries what’s going on' and that they are 'living in a cage' here. As they shouted 'Freedom' the police swooped in and threw tear gas into the crowds and beat them down. This went on for hours and we saw beatings, police confiscating cameras and destruction of ATM machines and public signs. As we write this we can still hear riots outside as we wait to head to the airport to head to the “
'much safer' Pakistan …
You’ll hear from us again next week … hopefully. For now, slán!!
Ireland's 'failure to control speeding' reduces the country's ability to further tackle road trauma.
That's the view expressed by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) in its latest report on speed policy developments in the EU.
The Brussels organisation notes that a commitment of the Irish Government to introduce a system of automated speed enforcement by this summer is 'likely to be missed'.
The country's target for this system was to provide in the region of 6,000 hours of enforcement a month.
Last year, the Government earmarked €10 million for the system, which was to have been managed by a private operator.
