Do you name your car?

Herbie in hiding. Pic: Connor McManus.

Did you know National Name Your Car Day is a thing? writes Brian Byrne. I didn't, but it seems that it is, on 2 October.

To mark the occasion, a survey commissioned by the Irish personalised name label producer, My Nametags, found that more than half of respondents have a name for their car.

So, for what it's worth, the most popular name for a car in Ireland is Betsie, followed by Herbie and Bertie. There's possibly a psychological reason why they all end in 'ie', but that's for someone else to investigate.

The practice is mostly a woman's thing, with females representing almost three-quarters of those who name their jalopies. Just 13 per cent of the 'yes' were men. 

Bond cars for sale in job lot

The world's largest collection of cars used in the James Bond movies is for sale, writes Brian Byrne.

They're owned by property millionaire Michael Dezer, and he's offering the 59 vehicles for a one-lot sale at £20m.

In addition to the 'standard' Aston Martins and more recent Jaguars, plus the 'odd' submersible Lotus Esprit, there's even a Russian T55 tank driven by Pierce Brosnan in 'Goldeneye'.

Up to recently the cars were in a Miami museum.

Drones may steal business from LCVs

Is order fulfillment of small packages going to be done by air instead of by van in the near future? asks Brian Byrne.

Could be that instead of the postman's van, an unmanned aerial vehicle — better known as drones used mainly by the US military — will drop off that parcel of books ordered from Amazon or wherever.

Well, a Sydney business named Flirtey plans to deliver rental textbooks to universities using drones, very soon.

It's believed to be the first use of fully automated commercial drones for package delivery in the world, and the company plans to launch similar delivery services in the US in 2015.

The books rental company, Zookal, claims deliveries can be made in as little as two or three minutes, in comparison to the days required for traditional shipping methods. Upon arrival at its delivery destination, a drone will hover and lower the parcel through a custom delivery mechanism that is attached to a retractable cord. A smartphone application can track the parcels for the customer.

The move is made possible by the relaxation of rules by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority in order to encourage the adoption of drone technology. With systems made possible by the convergence of internet, GPS and digital communications, the operators expect that package delivery costs can be cut to a tenth of their current price.

Flirtey is working to draft a set of guidelines for the use of commercial drones.

It's no Arc de Triomphe

Here's a less than desirable residence. The only remaining one of a row in China, the authorities built a road around it while waiting to do a deal with the owner, who refuses to move.

Full story in The Independent.

Underwater Beetle for shark viewing

Fancy a drive in a Beetle among the sharks? Well, Volkswagen has helped build a special version to do just that.

Scooting along on a breeze

Maybe electric cars are not the only answer for small personal transportation, writes Brian Byrne. Maybe compressed air is an alternative, too?

What about this Airpod being developed by Indian carmaker Tata? Yes, they're the ones producing the Nano microcar, as well as the high-tech Land Rover and Range Rover vehicles.

They've been working on this one for a couple of years, having bought the Indian rights to build cars using compressed air engines developed over the last two decades by Luxembourg firm MDI.

The prototypes are 3-seaters, and a €1 charge of compressed air will, they claim, last for 125 miles. The top speed is 40mph or so, perfect for a little city 'zip' car?

We'll see. But remember, Tata bought an ailing and loss-making company, Jaguar Land Rover, from Ford and turned it into a highly successful and very profitable company in short order. This should be a (compressed) breeze.

Why did you pack that?

When it comes to holiday arguments the contents of the suitcase are often one of the biggest bones of contention between members of the opposite sex, usually just before setting foot out of the front door.

Specialist 'over 50's' travel review and advice site, Silver Travel Advisor (www.silvertraveladvisor.com) has done a straw poll among its members and travel advisors and come up with its definitive list of what women and men would rather each other didn't pack.

Ten things women would rather men didn't pack

• 10 identical shirts in varying shades of the same colour; a few tiny grey checks or speckled pink dots doesn't make for a wardrobe revolution

• Leather sandals with socks. It's a woman thing. No further explanation necessary.

• Anything made from corduroy.

• A 'family sized' aerosol of shaving foam. Once out of the canister it never goes back in and few men are so macho that they need to shave that often on holiday.

• Embarrassingly large or baggy underwear. It's undesirable to display one's 'smalls' in public, but on holiday there are more opportunities than usual for the undies to be seen.

• A Beanie hat.

• A compass or similar navigation system. Getting lost is part of the holiday experience and no-one should appear that clever in public.

• Camera or lenses that would put the film crew from 'Frozen Planet' in the shade. Big lenses are so 1970's and most holiday shots can be done adequately on a mobile or compact these days.

• Gadgets. They are useless at home and even less appealing after carrying them through several time zones.

• Buoyancy aids. If you can't swim, then don't swim.


Ten things men would rather women didn't pack

• More than three pairs of shoes, ('comfortable', 'evening' and 'sporty' are more than adequate). We only have two feet and one suitcase.

• 'Essentials' such as a universal sink stopper, inflatable coat hanger or lobster pick. Live dangerously, there are some things that you really can manage without for a few days.

• A kettle. It's fair to say that not every hotel room has one, but if you're that far from boiling water then there won't be a socket to plug it into either.

• Photographs of the family. No-one wants to see them. Truly.

• Clothes. Without them life is more interesting and there is no risk of excess baggage.

• A suitcase. Most men would rather the contents arrived magically in the hotel room.

• More than one moisturiser, cleanser or anti-wrinkle cream. They like to see us as we really are sometimes.

• Enough medication to rival Casualty after a motorway pile up.

• Anything brightly coloured, garish or flamboyant that is likely to make you stand out in a troupe of flamenco dancers.

• Embarrassing headwear, what's the point when a simple Beanie hat would suffice?

Right. Who ever said we wanted to go on holidays together anyhow?

Fire trucks 'under water'

If you ever felt aggrieved because your sat-nav system brought you to the wrong place, or via a crazy route, spare a thought for the guys in NYC's fire trucks, writes Brian Byrne.

An expensive GPS system installed through the Fire Department showed some of the trucks to be under water, or back at base when they were out at a fire.

It was doubly embarrassing because these weren't €200 Garmins or TomToms. They cost $11,000 per truck!

The system was also used in the city's ambulances and garbage trucks, and supervisors have complained because the monitoring office was full of constant 'pings', even notifying if an operator had spent too long on a coffee break.

A stretch too far?

This is arguably the stretch limo for the post-boom years, writes Brian Byrne, a 7-metre long car based on the ubiquitous—and very reviled—car of the former East Germany, the Trabant.

Stretch Lincolns, Hummers, and Mercs are now so conspicuous consumption even for those who can afford them. But this Trabi-XXL in Berlin makes doing the limo thing seem almost public service.

You can rent it for a sightseeing tour of Germany's capital from €160, or €360 for a Wedding Package.