Some kind of Mishap

I wish I could understand Swedish. It did, however stop, and the auto-brake also turned the wipers on. I'm not sure if the truck comes as part of the package.

My Beaut Ute

It’s been clear for some time now that I need a Ute.

The MX5 is a great little jigger, but when it comes to moving house, carrying cleared vegetation away, or disposing of years of accumulated household clutter, it’s not a lot of use.

This was brought home a few weeks ago when I drove to the local hardware store to get a few bits and pieces, and realised that most of said bits and pieces weren’t portable in the Mazda.

Offspring in shared student accommodation seem to move house at least annually, and I got sick of hiring or borrowing Utes.

Having said that, anything I own has to be enjoyable to drive. I also prefer front engine, rear drive, and fully independent suspension. Once the decision was made to acquire a Ute, the next decision was which make.

Given my preferences above, it had to be a Commodore. I’ve owned Falcon sedans and driven Falcon Utes, and am familiar with the driving characteristics of the Henry*. They’re a great vehicle, but don’t drive as well as the Commodore.

The leaf spring rear end is also an anachronism these days. They’re OK when laden, but I’ll be driving the thing around empty most of the time.

The best value is had at auction, so that’s where I looked. I discovered a 2008 Omega with about 50000 on the clock, and ended up paying $3000 less for it than anything I’d found through a dealer of on private sale.

It’s ex Brisbane City Council, has been serviced regularly, and hasn’t copped a belting.

 The Mazda is sulking in the shed. It’s a lovely little thing, but life moves on.

I’ll make sure it goes to a good home.

*A Ford (as in Henry Ford).

Leyburn Sprints

I’ve been a petrol head ever since I was old enough to see over the dashboard of my father’s Standard Vanguard.

Our Vanguard was a sedan, and an earlier model than this one.

As a teenager, I’d contrive to get myself to circuits like Lowood and Lakeside to race meetings featuring amateurs who were in it for fun, not to make money. I must have been determined, as there was no way in a fit my father would take me, and I had to rely on older (and wealthier) friends and rellies to get me there.

MX5 club waiting to get in.

 I even did a stint as a flag marshal, overcoming the fear created by standing with my back to the direction of the cars as was necessary in some positions – usually those occupied by the most junior volunteers who had not established status on the pecking order.

There were some beautiful old cars displayed. This is a Healey 100/4.

 Later, when I had my licence and owned a car, I participated in the most rudimentary form of the sport – sprints.

And some ugly ones. This is a Bolwell Ikara.

At the time I owned a VW beetle. Sprinting in a 1200cc beetle? Enough said.

Still, it did teach me how to control oversteer.

Attending the Leyburn Sprints, therefore, is both an exercise in nostalgia and a return to the days when motor racing was a sport instead of a business.

A 1937 Ford Special.

To quote someone who learned about this a long time ago –

"The curse of commercialism is the ruin of every sport and the degeneracy of motor racing as a sport is due to the financial issues now involved in each race - the immense value of victory and the commercial disaster of defeat."

This was not written recently. It was penned by a pioneer British racing driver, Charles Jarrott (b.1877), who went on to say when writing his book Ten Years of Motors and Motor racing, 1896-1906 -

"I have raced because I love it, but a race of the present today would offer none of the charm which a race of five years ago afforded. It would have none of the sporting feeling or good comradeship between the fellow competitors".

Leyburn exudes charm. You can walk in amongst the cars and talk to the drivers.

MX5s were represented.

The format is simple – one car at a time in order of numbers. The circuit is tight which is a great leveller. Skill becomes as important as power.

I was 15 the last time I saw this racing (Lowood 1962).

A well-driven special is as likely to win as an expensive supercar.

Times are posted as the day goes on

This Cobra crossed the finish line sideways.

Sunday Drive - Flagstone Creek Road

Toowoomba Drivers

 I didn't need the Toowoomba Chronicle to tell me what I already know.

It may have something to do with the proportion of retired cow cockies living here, the enduring belief that the right-of-way rule applies on roundabouts, or the whimsical traffic engineering.

Maybe all three.

The most dangerous drivers are those wearing hats.

If you see a hat on a driver's head, be very afraid.

Mazda at Le Mans

It's worth remembering that Mazda won Le Mans in 1991.
I'd watch this just for the sound.

Be careful with your speaker volumes - it might make your ears bleed.

More Fleeting

You can have any colour so long as it's red.

Here, dear reader, for your careful perusal and edification, is another road test.

My fleet manager (she who must be obeyed), is utterly reliable, in that she always has requested vehicles available for the itinerary booked.

Where she does occasionally fall down is in providing a vehicle fit for purpose. Supplying a Hyundai Santa Fe diesel with a range of over 800km is overkill when all I need is something to get me 80km up the bitumen to Millmerran.

On the other hand, setting me up with a diminutive Hyundai i30 wagon (petrol) which has a safe range of 500 – 600km when I need to work at Yowah and Thargomindah is seriously bizarre.

Both these things have happened this month, but being the indefatigable worker that I am, I made do. Providing the bloody things have wheels, I’m good to go.

Last week I used the i30 for the big loop – St George, Cunnamulla, Yowah and Thargomindah.

It went OK.

Despite its un-fleet appearance (bright red), it turned out to be solid, comfortable, and capable of negotiating some dodgy tracks on the Black Gate short cut between Yowah and Thargo.

To be honest, the diesel version, if its engine and gearbox combination is anything like the Santa Fe’s, is probably the way to go. This one (petrol) gave about 7.5 lit/100km on the long stretches, and was a doddle to drive.

It also had a reasonable sound system with a USB port, and cruise control, so the 300km stretches that I drove went by pleasantly. I was able to listen to podcasts of Late Night Live and the Conversation Hour on a five dollar memory stick bought for the purpose.

Hyundais once had a terrible reputation, but they’ve improved at an amazing rate. These days they’re built like brick dunnies, and come with all the safety kit. This availability of state-of-the-art safety kit is what sells them to the fleet buyers.

The good things about this bucket of bolts included the steering, the ride, and the practical interior.

Not so good were the radio reception, the external mirrors which refused to stay in place against the slipstream, and tyre wear. On this car, the fronts were on the way out after only 27000km.

Fronts on the way out.

Tyre wear is not a problem on fleet vehicles, of course. Most drivers simply don't look at the tyres, and if they do, they don't let the fleet manager know that the tyre needs replacing.

And only 27236.

 Perhaps I'm old-fashioned, but I won't drive anything until I give it the once over. Once or twice, I've refused to take a car out because the tyres weren't legal. It doesn't make me popular.