Car Chute

By
Quentin Letts

Last updated at 10:52 PM on 27th January 2012

From the Palace of Westminster comes the sound of crossness, crunched gearboxes and muttered oaths amid complaints about ‘U-turns’. Literally.

Peers have been subjected to new security checks when parking their cars. They ain’t happy.

The arrangements have been introduced by the new Black Rod, Lieutenant General David Leakey, a man keen to ‘make some changes’.

Oh dear.

Unhappy Lords: Disgruntled peers have been frustrated by new security checks when arriving to park their cars

Peers can no longer just wave their passes and park their ageing Wolseley Hornets outside Parliament. Squinting against the sun, they must weave down a single-lane path, have their undercarriages, boots and bonnets checked for bombs, turn round, then pootle back up the one-lane path before parking their motors.

At busy times, peers driving back up the path have encountered fellow lords motoring the other way. Cue parping of horns, shaking of fists before one side or other has had to reverse — not easy on elderly necks.

Their lordships are so peeved that a debate this week on the Korean Free Trade Agreement was hijacked by denunciations of the new car park system. Labour’s Lord Barnett complained that he has had to resort to walking — not easy owing to a recent operation. Lady Trumpington (Con) called the arrangements ‘a total failure’ and unlikely to deter a single terrorist. It could be argued that Lady Trumpington alone would strike the fear of God into an al-Qaeda bad-hat. Perhaps Black Rod ought to think of that.  Lord Pearson (Ukip) said terrorists could more easily attack Parliament via the River Thames.

Lord Peston (Lab) said the House should exercise its sovereignty — how sweet to hear such words from a Europhile — and tell the security wallahs to hop it.

Lord Strathclyde, Leader of the House, gave a deep sigh. He knows une pomme de terre chaud when he encounters one. This row could make the Hunting Bill look like a stroll.

Lord Pearson said yesterday: ‘Black Rod is a very good man but he may have to do a U-turn of his own on this issue.’

Good old British bulldog

Pin-up: Bulldog Onslow, aged three months

My pin-up today is Onslow, aged three months. Bulldog Onslow lives with readers Malcolm and Myra Anders of Pocklington, Yorkshire. They named him after the late Earl of Onslow, the debonair Tory who died last May.

‘Bulldogs only bark when necessary, defend

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Following the road safety interventions which were held in the Erongo Region in December 2011 where equipment and other essentials were handed over to Law Enforcement, Shell through its involvement in Xupifa Eemwenyo, wrapped up its road safety campaign for the 2011/2012 Festive Season during an intervention held at the Karibib Roadblock on Saturday 21 January 2012. During the intervention, emphasis was placed on the use and proper application of seatbelts, switching on of headlights to ensure visibility, speeding and general safe road usage.

Said Mona-Liza Garises, Communications Manager of Shell Namibia Ltd,: “Although we are wrapping up the Xupifa Eemwenyo 2011/2012 Festive Season Campaign, this intervention is one of many road safety activities which we have planned for 2012.

We regard road safety as an ongoing concern and will continue to contribute to, and complement, stakeholder efforts in making our roads safer.  As we continue to add value and provide much needed support to law-enforcement, we will, through consistent involvement in such  initiatives, strive to win the hearts and minds of road users in understanding the role each one of us play and also in being responsible road users.  We believe that every action, no matter how small, is bound to make a difference in saving lives.”

Baboucar Sane, Shell’s Country Chairman, expressed appreciation for the involvement and active participation of various stakeholders.

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…but only in the USA

Chris Paine’s stellar documentary ‘Revenge of the Electric Car’ is available to buy on DVD from today. The bad news is, they’re all Region 1 (USA) format discs, so those of us this side of The Pond will either need a ‘region free’ player or we’re in for a bit more of a wait.

We’ve asked how long and as soon as we get a definitive answer (they’re checking for us) we’ll post an update here. In the meantime, here’s the lowdown on the film with details of how and where to buy below…

The race to launch a new wave of electric cars

‘Revenge’ is Paine’s follow-up to his 2006 film ‘Who Killed the Electric Car?’, which investigated who was to blame for the all-but destruction of the electric car industry around the time General Motors EV1 pure-electric was recalled from service and scrapped. It was described by many as a murder mystery, examining each possible culprit one by one – consumers, batteries, oil companies, the California Air Resources Board and the US government were all suspects.

‘Revenge of the Electric Car’, which had its world premiere at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, is an altogether more positive movie. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access at Chevrolet, Nissan and Tesla, it charts the “race” to get the electric car back onto the market, with all three manufacturers bringing a groundbreaking vehicle to the table.

We meet Carlos Ghosn, the man responsible for the Nissan LEAF, the world’s first ever mass-produced, purpose built pure-electric car. Up against him is Bob Lutz, top dog (at the time) at General Motors with the Chevy Volt extended-range electric car up his sleeve. Lutz was the man who made the decision to scrap the EV1 programme so it’s a bit of an about-face for the former Marine, but this time he’s convinced by his challenger… well, it has a petrol engine in it too.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, a young upstart multi-millionaire who made his money from selling his money-handling website PayPal (you may have heard of it!) got in on the pure electric act with Tesla Motors. Musk’s first car, the Tesla Roadster, is a supercar based on the Lotus Elise. With a 200+ mile range and a 0-60mph time of 3.7 seconds, it’s a car that forever changed the world’s perceptions of what an electric vehicle could be.

We also get a glimpse of the EV conversion business through eyes of Greg “Gadget” Abbott, who’s busy putting together electric Porsche Speedsters in a California warehouse. Well, until disaster strikes, anyway. Check out our interview

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Australia’s most important cars

Holden 48-215.

Tony Davis braves the knockers to list his best local models of all time. Let the arguments begin.

I have been given the job of nominating the 10 most important Australian cars of all time. And what were the criteria? That it must be filed by Wednesday. OK, it was not quite like that but setting deadlines was a lot easier than setting criteria.

How do you define importance? Should it be on sales? No, that would give us the frumpy HD Holden, which was our quickest-selling car of all time on release.

Quality? Not to be overlooked but cars are not remembered fondly just for their tight panel gaps. And, frankly, no Australian car has ever led the world in this area.

Significance? Yes, but how do you define it? Is it technical innovation, motor sport success, speed or beauty? Did the car in question advance the car industry?

Most of all, what is an Australian car? Can we count those that were primarily designed overseas, such as various Holdens or Falcons, or indeed the Mini, but adapted here for local conditions?

And what about a car that may not be a work of beauty or technical virtuosity but was just what was needed at the time and brought its maker back from the brink?

Obviously, it is a combination of all of the above. So here, in no particular order, is my top 10. Whether it is THE top 10 is entirely a matter for you.

Holden 48-215

The 48-215, later known as the FX or ”Humpy”, was the first car fully manufactured and successfully mass-produced in Australia. It showed that local adaptation was a definite advantage and that Australians were prepared

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By Sarah Ferguson

Posted 1 hour ago

Lucas Blazek says he’s grateful for the opportunities that have been provided to him through Fort Erie Secondary School (FESS).

And thanks to a generous donation from General Motors Canada, Blazek, along with a small group of senior students will have the opportunity to take a part, examine and rebuild one of two V6 engines.

Although the Grade 11 student plans to attend college to study art, he says “it’s pretty cool” to be a part of the automotive program at FESS.

Blazek says he will be able to perform basic maintenance and he will have a working knowledge of what goes on inside a car.

“Although I don’t see myself in an automotive field, being a part of this program at FESS will help me in the future, especially when I invest in a car.”

Brad Ziegler, an automotive teacher at FESS, says General Motors of Canada has offered 19 engines worth $4,000 each, to the District School Board of Niagara for high school students participating in transportation technology programs.

When he heard about the donation, Ziegler says he jumped at the chance to receive these engines for his students to use in class. And with the help of Fyke Trading, a local transportation company, Ziegler says he was able to bring the engines to FESS.

The engines were officially presented to the automotive education department at FESS by Gary Athoe, a production manager of V6 engines.

The engines will be used over the next four or five years to teach students about how engines work. Each semester, the engines will be taken apart and rebuilt by two groups of students to examine how they work.

The transportation technology program at FESS is an important one, which teaches “real life and hands-on skills,” says Ziegler, adding the program is aimed at giving students a firm background in basic automotive repair.

These engines, along with other projects within the program, will teach students enough skills to perform basic maintenance so they can seek employment opportunities, or so they can perform basic maintenance on their own vehicles if they wish, says Ziegler.

“The program is huge. We’re helping students to develop skills so they could seek future employment at places such as Bertie Tire, Jack Shaw’s, or Canadian Tire. Our program also gives students the opportunity to take part in the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program in conjunction with co-ops.”

Ziegler says FESS would appreciate any donation of unwanted cars, trucks, vans lawn mowers and other small engines for students to learn with. If anyone is interested in making a donation to FESS, they are asked to phone

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