Ferrari Smash

Imagine getting a call from your son in the middle of the night with this message, "Dad, I've crashed your limited-edition Ferrari. You know, the one that is valued for about $400,000". OK, maybe not exactly like that but 'Ferrari' and 'smash' are two words that shouldn't be in the same sentence.

Well this happened to a very very very unlucky dad. His precious Ferrari was smashed (to a tree), just have a look at the picture above (right). On the left is the boy who crashed it and probably reporting the incident to his dad.

The Ferrari is a limited edition F360 Challenge Stradale, was imported 4 years ago. Only 16 cars are believed to be imported to Australia and New Zealand.

The cause of the crash is (obviously) speed. Probably the kid wanted to try "getting 80 in first gear" like the radio commercial of Melbourne Airport. But for whatever reason, it was a reckless thing to do.

Let's just hope that the dad pays his insurance.

picture from theage.com.au

BMW Hydrogen 7

I guess by now everybody should know that our world is in dire need to be saved. Being 'green' is the talk of the town (world even) because the issue of global warming is here now and if we don't do anything, we will be in danger.

Cars are one of the main contributor to global warming but this might change in the future. Innovations are coming from all the car companies to build a better car and one example of this is BMW.

BMW Hydrogen 7, that's the new name for the car that emits water instead of carbon dioxide, monoxide, etc. And if you're in Melbourne, you're in luck. You can see this machine in flesh at Federation Square starting from the 21st of January until the 28th of January. Admission is free and it's open 11am to 3pm daily. It is also open during the Australia Day weekend.

If you want to see the BMW Hydrogen 7 website, click here.

KTM what ?

Ever feel like driving one of those futuristic cars, the one that looks like a Bat-car. Well, you might not have to wait that long. KTM, a European motorcycle manufacturer, is going to launch its first ever automobile and damn, it looks HOT. Check out the pictures below,

what a beauty

and again from the side

The name is KTM X-BOW and they are planning to bring it in Australia next year around May. The price point is estimated to be between 80,000 to 90,000 which is (I think) about the same price with a BMW Z4.

It is rear-wheel-drive and powered by Audi's engine (turbocharged direct injection 2 litre four-cylinder petrol engine). This can produce 162kW of power. It has a six-speed gearbox and can do 0-100km/h in 3.9sec.

But, you've got to buy it online instead of getting it from a dealership so no test-drive. Another thing to note, the car has no roof, doors, boot or windscreen. So, a helmet is a must. It also doesn't have a luggage compartment. Well, I think it is basically a motorcycle that looks like a car. I'm not sure whether they will let you go without a helmet. But, the car sure looks good.

Further info, pictures and 360 degrees view can be obtained from their website.

pictures from netrider.net.au

Less Tax for Cars in Victoria

The state government of Victoria has just announced a reduction of duty rates payable when you purchase a new vehicle. The reduction mainly affects cars that are priced between $35,000 to $45,000. The new duty is a 2-tier system as suppose to the old, 3-tier system.

Here are the comparison between the old and new rates (taken from the State Revenue Office website - www.sro.vic.gov.au)

Old Scale		New Scale
Price	Duty Rate*	Price	Duty Rate*
$0 - $35,000	2.5%	$0 - $57,009	2.5%
$35,000 – $45,000	4%	$57,009 +	5%
$45,000 +	5%

It seems that duty reduction aims at family cars. Small cars like Holden Astra, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla (normally priced from $15,000 to $25,000) will miss out on the new rates. However, Australian favourite large cars such as Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon, Toyota Camry will benefit from this new duty. It is expected to cut the price of new family cars by around about $600.

The new rates will apply from the 1st of May 2007. For more information on this, go to the State Revenue Office Victoria website. A media release is also available on the site.

New Number Plate Style

Melbournians or should I say Victorians, good news. I just got a letter today from Vicroads (thank God it's not a bill or a fine). The letter was about a new style of number plates that will be launched next week. They call it the Signature Plates. It's a 2 letter, 2 letter+1 number, and 2 letter + 2 numbers combination so it's like AA, AA2 and AA12.

I have no detail on the price yet but I'm guessing it'll be above $500. Some limited edition ones, like RR, GT, SS, GT0 will be auctioned on Monday 12th March at the Melbourne Motorshow. Then, the rest will be available the day after from Vicroads and vplates.com.au.

The colours for the new plates is quite awesome as well, check out the colour combination below.

Pictures courtesy of Vicroads

I personally like the gold ones. They would look really nice if I have a car to match it. So for the number plate junkie, circle 13th of March, bold it, write it in your diary, make a poster, do anything so you won't forget it.