RobiNZ Vox: July 2009

About banning cellphones in cars...

I don't like cellphones but love driving. If they ban hand-held cellphones in cars it won't really inconvenience me but I wonder about the logic. I don't think using a hand-held cellphone in a car is a suicidal act but is probably best avoided depending on the circumstances. At 100km/h on the highway, no way! Sitting at the lights or inching along in the commuter crawl I can't really see a problem.
I can't comment on texting while driving as I consider texting at any time to be a completely frustrating waste of time. Probably because I'm so bad at it that I can feel my life ebbing away while trying to enter a message that would take a few seconds to speak. I mean, you've got a phone and I've got a phone so why text line by line? I have, without checking the exact number, sent less than 50 texts since getting a text capable phone in 2005. I even once got a text from Telecom telling me I could use my phone to text, as it I wasn't aware of this fact.
If they ban cellphones in cars why not other potential driving hazards like;
Other Audio: CD Players, MP3 Players and distractions like talkback radio which could incite rage while on the road. Music can make a powerful impression when driving. I can still remember listening to Pat Metheny's totally awesome "The Way Up" when driving the One Litre Ferrari to New Plymouth, and that was several years ago, but have no memory of how fast I was going or the traffic hazards encountered.
Food: How many hot pies are consumed behind the wheel? Can you safely munch an apple while tootling along in the morning commute? How much gum is thrown, or not quite thrown, out the window and what happens next?
Cigarettes: If a talking device is considered life threatening surely lighting and consuming a burning cigarette, heaven forbid rolling one, is potentially harmful (long-term even if you get away with the driving part). Off topic, one of the funniest things I've seen at the lights was a pedestrian (sizable enough that you wouldn't argue with him) scoop up and throw a discarded lit cigarette back into the car it had been thrown from. It was amazing how fast that driver moved in a frantic search to find it!
Babies and young children: They should be banned from cars as represent far more potential danger than a phone. Not only is there possible audio distraction beyond anything a cellphone can create but also the potential for other "emissions" to overwhelm the senses.
Animals: I don't think dogs loose in a car are a great idea. Even caged cats are a problem as they inevitably howl and pee in the cage which is very distracting.
Cosmetics and Shavers: The delicate application of facial make-up or flick of an electric shaver is a common rush hour sight. Both require dedicated visual and digital coordination that conflicts with driving
Toasters: OK, this is perhaps too rare to required dedicated legislation but I have seen a Toaster (still in the box) being held, with both hands, at eye level by a driver who was doing 50 km/h in relatively busy morning commuter traffic. I don't know what they were trying to read but it certainly nearly caused an accident, for the guy in the next lane staring amazed at what they were doing!
Makes talking on a phone seem relatively safe!

Posted at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Voxer meets Voxer

After several years, and who knows how many comments on each others blogs, it was great to meet Jack Yan. I enjoyed the lunch and riding in a nice new 3 Series BMW which he's currently testing. Thanks Jack!

Hi Jack (Yan)

I had really nice weather in Wellington...

Wellington on a nice Monday morning

And found out how the Bravo handled a variety of conditions from the snowy, but not icy, Desert Road:

1°C on the Desert Rd

To great roads like Highway 4, Wanganui to National Park. I didn't take the shortest route home but covered some ground that I haven't been over for a long time.

Wanganui Hwy 4 made for driving

And the main reason for the trip, to see Formula 1 - The Great Design Race at Te Papa

Formula 1 - The Great Design Race

Posted at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Alfa Romeo MiTo arrives in New Zealand

I passed by Andrew Simms European tonight and saw the new Alfa Romeo MiTo 'in the metal" for the first time. It's just arrived in New Zealand and I was keen to see how it looked as some of the proportions look strange in the web and magazine photos I've seen, even those carefully framed manufacturer shots.

They had two MiTos (or is the plural just MiTo?) on display: metallic red in the showroom - which is above road level and not very easy to photograph - and a black one in the outside yard.

Squeezing the new Alfa look, inspired by the 8C Competizione, onto a small hatchback has compromised it a little but the real thing looks a lot better than any photograph.

What surprised me is how the 1.72m wide MiTo appears narrower than the Punto (1.68m w) which shares it's platform when viewed from the front. ASE had a 3 door Punto beside the MiTo and the comparison was interesting. The MiTo has a low set vertical grille and lights stacked high on the guard which look fine but are responsible for the occasionally gawky frontal appearance. The Punto has similar lights but its narrow horizontal grille makes the chassis appear wider. The short overhangs and overall length of the MiTo aren't a problem and the back, with large round tail lights, looks better the the Punto which has a plain hatch and vertical lights. The lower you are, compare the red car shot below, the better the MiTo looks. My photos don't really do it justice but rushed hand held snapshots of a black car in the dark aren't going to be award winners!

I only peeked at the interior through the window but it looks far more up-market than the top end Punto models, as it should given the $10-15k price difference. The sprinkling of Alfa, Fiat and Citroën logos on the photos are reflections not Alfa previewing some new Fiat Group alliance!

It's a sign of the times that the 1.4 Litre 4 cyl MiTo puts out the same 114kW (155bhp) as my 2.0 Litre 5 cyl Bravo HGT, although it has a Turbo to help. It also does the same 8 sec 0-100 km/h but the claimed fuel consumption, 6.5 l/100km, is at least 1 l/100km better than the Bravo averages.

I wondered if the Alfa Romeo MiTo styling would work but came away impressed. Although Alfa might cringe at reference to it, given it's rust bucket reputation, I reckon this little Alfa is a worthy successor to the long gone, but not forgotten, Alfasud. It might be more conventional in layout, transverse four rather than boxer, but brings essential Alfa DNA back to the small car market. It also appears the MiTo has a level of build quality the old 'sud deserved, but never achieved. New Zealand only gets one top spec MiTo model and its priced to take on the Mini. I reckon the obese German parody, good as it is, has a real rival in the MiTo.

I don't know how it goes but it looks bellissimo! I wonder if Andrew Simms do extended test drives for bloggers