Motoring - winter 2015

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Motoring

Wi

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2 r e nt

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Winter Driving

Driverless cars of the future

s y u b t s e b o t e d i u G istration g e R 1 5 1 r fo

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03

Motoring

It’s winter – wise up to safer driving!

OKAY, we’ve gotten away with the weather pretty well this year, but the difficult driving season has finally got to us with the fog of last week, and a bit of ice, not to mention the heavy rain of the previous week. So get your safe driving act together, writes Brian Byrne.

First, given that we’ve had the thickest fog conditions for some years, remind yourself of these few basic rules.

Slow down. It drives me crazy to see some of the antics of Irish drivers in fog, so many of them don’t seem to realise that it’s different to a dry sun-warmed road.

Rule of thumb, cut a minimum of 20mph off your normal highway driving speed.

Even if you can see the car ahead clearly, you can’t see what’s happening further on, and if there’s an incident, then you get much less warning than usual of a sudden stop.

Use your fog lights. But only in fog. Again, there are platoons of people out there who believe their front fogs are extra driving lights. They’re not, their light scatter is designed differently and when used in ordinary conditions they dazzle oncoming drivers.

The rear fog light is most important, as ordinary rear lights don’t have enough illumination in foggy conditions, and the fog light gives around the same light as brake lights. Again, don’t leave it on when the fog is gone, as they seriously dazzle drivers travelling behind.

Don’t depend on the fog lights alone, use your dipped headlights too, even if your modern car has daylight running lights.

It’s as important to be seen as see.

Use wipers: Run your windscreen wiper regularly. Fog deposits on your windscreen, not as noticeably as rain but cutting already scarce vision distance as well as making oncoming lights look very smeary and dazzling.

Keep your distance. Again, avoidance or stopping manoeuvres happen much more suddenly in fog, so leave yourself that extra cushion of space to react in time before a possible crunch. Also keep an eye on the driver behind you.

If he or she is tailgating you, tap the brakes a couple of time to encourage them to pull back. You might be doing things right, but you don’t want to be rear-ended by a dope who isn’t. In wet conditions, also double the distance you’d normally leave between your car and the one in front.

Watch out for floods: Too many drivers figure they can drive through standing water, but depending on where the air

intake is for your engine, you can wreck it in just half a foot of water. And do consider people on the footpath as you drive through the puddle beside them.

Other road users: With the early dark evenings and darker mornings, there are more pedestrian adults and children, and cyclists too, using roads and footpaths that may not be properly lit. Be aware that not everybody wears reflective gear (though they should).

Overtaking in the dark isn’t as simple as seeing that there’s no oncoming traffic.

Distances are deceptive, so don’t leave it to ‘I’ll chance it’. Be sure of where you’re going and what space is available to do what you need to do safely.

In conclusion, be sensible: Make yourself aware of the greater risks in winter driving, and keep aware of them. It’s what good drivers do. It’s why they get safely through the winter without harming themselves, or others. And that’s really what you want, isn’t it?

Winter checks: Before all that, of course, you should have run a visual check on all your lights, making sure bulbs don’t need to be replaced. Consider having an alignment check too, to make sure they’re both legal and giving you the best vision possible.

Never drive with one working headlight.

Somebody else in the dark might mistake you for a motorbike and find out the hard way, for them and you, that there’s heavy metal where they didn’t figure it to be.

Check brake pads, tyre pressure and tyre tread depth. The road is now more likely to be wet, and also have a lot of slippery wet leaves around. And when passing pedestrians, cyclists, or other cars, give them a wider space than normal, as they might themselves hit a slippery patch and swerve into your path.

Check you screen wipers, and replace them if they’re showing signs of wear, or leaving streaks on the windscreen.

Replacement should ideally be annual, and at this time of the year they’ll likely be scored from dealing with dusty windscreens through the summer (we got more dead flies on the windscreens this summer too, and scraping them off is hard on the wipers).

Check all the fluids — you’re going to be using your screen washer more, for instance, and there’s nothing worse than being stuck in traffic with no fluid left.

Check oil and coolant levels too.

John O’Brien Car Sales & Servicing www.johnobriencarsales.com

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05

Motoring

BUYING A NEW CAR …

What’s new to tempt you into car showrooms for January?

BY BRIAN BYRNE

AS we turn towards a new car-buying year in which the slow upturns in the economy are showing signs of making it a pretty good year for the dealers (when was the last time you saw a car salesman smiling?), let’s take a look at some of the new cars just arrived or just down the road.

I’m not going to attempt to make it a comprehensive catalogue, but here are some of the ones that may well help to tempt you into changing that faithful friend who kept you rolling through the recession:

HYUNDAI i20

Hyundai’s new i20 looks like giving the established superminis, and even a couple of compacts, a run for their money in 2015. A changed emphasis in style from the brand, an elegance that catches the eye, and a lot more room than you might expect all combine to make it worth a second look.

SUZUKI CELERIO

Suzuki’s new addition to the relatively small city car segment, the Celerio, is also one which is playing the space game to attract owners who don’t feel they should have to squeeze and grunt while getting into a small car. With proven 3-pot engines and a new twist in one of them, there’s another real option for those who don’t want to drive what everybody else is doing. An automatic without fuel penalty will attract.

NISSAN PULSAR

Nissan’s Pulsar is filling a gap in the compact hatch scene for the Japanese brand, which has been without a contender here for more years than it has been comfortable with. It’s a smart looker, well specified, and well up to creating a real challenge to Focus, Golf et al.

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06

Motoring

AUDI TT

Audi’s new generation TT coupe and roadster, in both powerful and more powerful flavours, will burnish the halo of the prestige segment challenger that made it to not just play with the big boys, but to bloody their noses. There will be a small but loyal following to pick up the latest, and likely a few conquests from the Beemer and Merc ownership too.

MERCEDES C-CLASS

A neat one for the Mercedes-Benz lover is the estate version of the very smooth new generation C-Class, the car that has changed the perception and fortunes of the brand in the middle executive level. This executive wagon will do extraordinarily well in other markets where estates are prized, but should also extend the reach of the C-Class here too.

FORD MONDEO

Ford’s new Mondeo has been a long time coming, but those who have waited for it will feel pleased that their time wasn’t wasted.

New and improved engines in a car large enough to ship five full adults and their trappings in very good comfort will likely help bring the blue oval brand back to the top of the space in this segment.

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07

Motoring

BMW 2 TOURER

I’m very taken indeed with BMW’s new 2 Series Active Tourer, which offers a really smart and well-finished vehicle in the compact range somewhere between a long hatchback and a wagon. A perfect car for the active and reasonably well heeled young family, it’s more than a mere estate and yet not an SUV-crossover. One to watch, and own if you can.

VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT

VW will have their new Passat in Ireland for January, pleasing an almost fanatically loyal current ownership mightily. In saloon and wagon formats, and a wide range of the brand’s most advanced power plants, the middle managers of Ireland (and the commercial reps) will be smiling all around the country.

SKODA FABIA

Jaguar XE

BMW 3-Series

Jeep Renegade

Audi A4

Honda HR-V

Skoda’s new Fabia moves that well-considered brand’s super-mini further ahead of the parent company’s Polo yet again, and will likely pull in a very respectable number of buyers who will prize the sharp style. There’s no problem with the engines, well proven and reliable from the vast VW range.

A little further into the year we’ll have the likes of the new small Jeep Renegade, which I’m looking forward to driving again, this time over here. Then there’ll be the new Jaguar XE, the brand’s latest tilt at taking converts from the 3-Series and Audi A4. A new Honda HR-V will both please previous owners of the model, and tempt new ones from their current automotive mistresses.

And there is, and will be, more. This has been just the tasting plate, so to speak.

! r a e y e h Enjoy t

CITROEN C4 CACTUS

Citroen’s C4 Cactus will in typically Citroen style produce lovers and haters, with likely many more of the former who will ambassador the car on Irish roads in reasonable numbers. This is another car for the active lifestyle, and its ding-proof armour will make it a popular warrior in the supermarket car park wars.

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09

Motoring

Driverless cars of the future

Vehicles which drive themselves could be on the roads four years from now, provided red tape doesn’t get in the way, writes Brian Byrne.

I WAS having a routine health check last week, which included an ECG to see if the old ticker is OK. I told the doctor that the last time I had one was in an experimental Ford car seat in the company’s research HQ in Aachen, Germany, some two years ago.

‘The idea is that in the near-distance future, cars will be able to monitor drivers’ health,’ I said. ‘And, for instance, if it detects the onset of a serious illness, such as a heart attack, it will be able to bring the car to a safe stop, and alert the emergency services, even the victim’s doctor.’

Far-fetched? Nope. It’s only a matter of bringing established medical technologies into the car. Already there, in some cases. Like cameras that monitor eye-blink rates and can tell you to stop for a cup of coffee.

And the autonomous — self-driving — car? It’s here too. At least in the pieces of technology that can make it happen. At that same Ford event in Aachen, I was a passenger in a car that drove itself in a simulated stop-go multiplelane traffic situation. It was able to cope with changes in speed, having other cars suddenly slip into the gap in front and sudden stops.

Already there If you think about it, all the elements for autonomous driving are already in many of the ordinary cars available today: Self-parking systems that only require the driver to use the pedals. Radar-controlled cruise control systems that can keep the car at the prevailing speed of close traffic. ‘City-safe’ anti-collision technology that actually will stop a car from hitting a pedestrian who suddenly darts into the street. And lots more.

It’s all down to sensors, which these days can detect people and vehicles beyond the headlights’ range at night, for instance. Or that sense inadvertent lane-drifting and either warn, or nudge the steering to get the car back on line, or both. Which can ‘see’ other cars coming up in ‘blind spots’ and flash a warning.

Add in really sophisticated sat-nav and Google Maps, and there are gigabytes more aroundand in-car information sloshing about than a

normal human could possibly process for the act of driving. Eventually too, all new cars have transponders similar to those used by aircraft, by which they can connect with each other even around corners and make appropriate autonomous driving decisions.

All that good stuff is here.

And more.

It is already being used both to p rov i d e s e m i autonomous d r i v i n g options in a number of p ro d u c ti o n cars, such as S, E, C and CLS-Class models from Mercedes-Benz.

In August of 2013, an S-Class drove the 100km from Mannheim to Pforzheim, negotiating dense traffic and complex traffic situations.

With the ‘driver’ not touching the wheel all the way. Since then, the systems have been licensed for testing on real roads in California, and are now driving in real-world traffic.

Hands off An amendment to United Nations rules agreed earlier this year would let drivers take their hands off the wheel of self-driving cars. The change was pushed by Germany, Italy and France whose high-end carmakers believe they are ready to zoom past US tech pioneers to bring the first vehicles to market.

If the amendment clears all bureaucratic hurdles, it would allow a car to drive itself, as long as the system can be overridden or switched off by the driver. A driver must be present and able to take the wheel at any time.

It’s all looking good. But caveats remain.

Drivers who need to react to emergencies do so more slowly from an automated driving scenario than from fully manual driving That conclusion comes from tests carried out by the Institute of Transport Studies at Leeds

University. Dr Natasha Serat, who leads the Safety & Technology Group at the Institute, said tests in the facility’s driving simulator also said that when given a secondary task while the ‘car’ was in fully autonomous mode, it took the subjects much longer to react to an emergency.

Dr Merat said that in an ideal world, taking the human ‘out of the loop’ in driving provides an a rg u m e nt that there is improved safety.

‘But we need to understand that drivers know what’s going on with the automation, what it is doing, and what happens when it switches off ... because that’s where things go wrong. We don’t know what happens to drivers when we increase the use of these technologies, when they become more

supervisors of systems than actual drivers.’

But such obstacles aren’t stopping carmakers from being bullish about autonomous driving. Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is predicting that cars which drive themselves could be on the roads four years from now, provided red tape doesn’t get in the way.

He says the problem isn’t technology, it’s legislation and the whole question of responsibility that goes with these cars moving around ... and especially who is responsible once there is no longer anyone inside.

Have I forgotten Google? The non-carmaker which seemed to have taken this whole driverless cars thing out ahead of the established companies for so long? Well, no.

Google got the headlines in one way because it owns so much of the internet news transmission anyhow. But it’s still working away, and earlier this year revealed its twoseater commuter car. With a top speed of 25mph, it’s for the cities.

A brave new world. But we’re yet some distance away from reading the newspaper while behind the wheel of a car belting along at 100km per hour. Don’t try it at home, folks!

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10

Motoring

Avoiding the pitfalls when buying a used car WHAT do you do if you discover the car that you bought three months ago actually belongs to a finance company? Or if you discover the car you bought privately two years ago was previously clocked to reduce the mileage display?

These are just some of the queries dealt with by the National Consumer Agency over the past year, who has received more than 2,600 contacts in relation to second-hand cars in the year since September 2013.

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TRUCKS 2004 Isuzu NQR 4x4 COMMERCIALS 2007 Toyota Landcruiser 2007 Mitsubishi Pajero 2006 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 2006 Nissan Pathfinder 2006 Toyota Landcruiser SUV’S 2014 Isuzu D-Max Double cab 2013 Ssangyoung Korando 5 seater 2012 Peugeot 3008 5 seater 2012 Mitsubishi Pajero 5 seater 2012 Nissan Navarra 5 seater 2011 Hyundai IX35 5 seater 2011 Toyota Hi-Lux Double cab 2011 Citroen Berlingo Multispace 5 seater 2011 Skoda Yeti 5 seater 2011 Toyota Hi-Lux Double cab 2010 V.W Tiguan 5 seater 2010 Toyota Hi-Lux Double cab 2010 Toyota Landcruiser Crew Cab 2009 Nissan Navarra Double cab 2008 Range Rover 5 seater 2007 Hyundai Sante Fe 7 seater 2006 Toyota Landcruiser Crew Cab

Jimmy Barry Motors have recently added Ger O’Donovan The Pike Clonakilty to their sales team, Ger has huge experience in agriculture having worked in Shortens ballineen for 5 years aswell as agricultural contracting in the Clonakilty Area. He will be working as a field sales rep for Cars, Vans and 4x4s aswell as tractors and machinery in this area of west cork.If you’d like to make an appointment for Ger to call to you you can contact him on 0864199944 To view all sTock

JIMMy BARRy MOTORS

colomane, Bantry

027 50709 | www.jimmybarrymotors.ie

11

Motoring they purchase it.

With this in mind, the National Consumer Agency has prepared the following guidelines to steer motorists in the right direction when choosing a car: How much?

The first thing to consider is the amount you have to spend. To finance the car, you may decide to open a savings account, take out a loan, opt for a hire purchase agreement or a Personal Contract Plan (PCP), which is similar to a hire purchase agreement, however PCPs also have a very large final payment called the ‘minimum guaranteed future value’ or ‘balloon payment’. It’s important to realise that in a hire purchase or PCP agreement, the finance company is the owner of the car until the full amount is paid back to them. When preparing your budget for your car, you should also factor in the additional costs of running a car, such as motor tax, insurance, car servicing and repair and national car testing (NCT) costs.

Type of car Any car you buy will generally be used for a number of years so consider the type of car you need now, but also into the future. A growing family could mean you need more space for baby equipment or more room for growing teenagers. If you are travelling long distances you may focus more on cars with comfort, fuel economy and reliability features. An energy-efficient car will have the dual benefit of helping the environment whilst saving you money on your tax.

When you know the amount you have to spend, and the type of car you want, there is a number of checks to go through before purchasing the car: Do a registration number check – Using the registration number of the car you can check if it has changed hands in the last three months by visiting www.motortax.ie.

If it has you should question why it’s being sold within such a short time period. There could be a genuine reason for selling it on but it is good to find out if you can.

Call the seller before you view the car – When calling about a car make a note of the questions you want answered and write down as much information as you can.

Compare the information you get with the advert to make sure that it is consistent.

When you call refer to the car you saw in the paper/site. Don’t give any further information and wait to hear their response.

If they say ‘which one,’ ask if they are a trader or a private seller as your consumer rights differ when dealing with a trader

compared to a private seller.

Know your rights – If you buy from a trader, you have some protection under consumer law. However, if you buy privately, you do not have the same consumer rights because the person selling the car is not acting as a business. For more information on your rights, visit www.consumerhelp.ie View the car during the day – Don’t examine a vehicle at night time or during wet weather because you not be able to spot flaws. Check for any visible signs of damage, for example, scrapes, dents, broken or cracked lights, inconsistency in colour paintwork, signs of leaks or tell-tale signs of repair, such as one headlight appearing newer than the other.

Test drive the car with a mechanic – Turn off the radio and air-conditioning to make sure there are no strange noises or smells of oil, petrol or diesel. It is an offence for a business to sell a car that is not roadworthy. However if you are buying the car from a private seller it is up to you, the buyer, to ensure the car is in good condition. Remember it is an offence for you to drive a car that is not roadworthy.

Check the history of the car – If you suspect that a car has been clocked there are a number of checks that you can do.

The odometer will be displayed in miles or kilometers. The average annual mileage of privately owned petrol cars is about 17,000 kilometers (10,500 miles). Diesel cars, if they have been used for business purposes, could have a higher average of about 24,000 kilometers (15,000 miles).

If you are thinking about buying a car that has substantially lower mileage than this, but shows signs of heavy wear and tear, for example on the seat covers, pedal rubbers, gear knob or steering wheel, be very cautious. If you think the odometer has been tampered with contact the Gardaí and let the National Consumer Agency know by contacting its Consumer Helpline on 1890 432 432.

Check the car’s history for insurance claims, crashes and service logs. You can do this on websites such as www.cartell.ie, www.motorcheck.ie or www.mywheels.ie for a small fee.

has been imported. Check the details of the car logbook against the sellers ID to ensure they are the current owner of the car.

Check the car is free of any hire purchase agreement – Check that the car you are buying is not under an existing hire purchase agreement on www. hpifirst.ie. If it is the person trying to sell the car does not actually own it and does not have the right to sell it to you.

Ask for two sets of keys – If you decide to buy the car ask for two sets of keys as it may prove expensive later on if you need a second key.

Avoid paying with cash – Always pay by bank draft, card or cheque when buying a car. If you do choose to pay

Documents Always ask for certain documents when you buy a car; a written warranty stating what it covers and its duration; the car’s logbook; the car’s service book; a car handbook / manual; and a signed receipt for payment; National Car Test (NCT) certificate if the car is over four years old and/or the Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) certificate if the car

petrol carS

BArgAins to CleAr 07 toyota Auris 1.4 105m/168km €6.500 07 VW Jetta 1.6 59m/95km €4,950 06 Mazda 3 1.6 91m/146km 4,850 05 toyota Yaris 1.0 70m/113km €4,250 04 toyota Avensis 1.6 168,000 miles €2,500 04 Hyundai Coupé 1.6 only 61,000 miles €2,950 03 VW golf 1.4 120,000 miles €2,500 03 toyota Corolla 1.4 only 87,000 miles €2,500 03 Kia rio estate 1.4 100,000 miles €1,250 01 VW golf 1.4 120,000 miles €1,500 94 Mini Cooper €2,000

All Cars Have Current nCts

AidAn’s Autos shannonvale, Clonakilty 086 6015072

by cash don’t hand it over unless you are fully happy with the condition of the car and you know what you are buying. Always ask for a receipt.

Take action if something goes wrong – If you discover there is something wrong with the car you bought contact the seller immediately and ask what they intend to do about the problem. If the car is under warranty, check the terms and conditions of the warranty or if the seller is a member of the Society of Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), you may be able to go through the SIMI complaints process.

If your claim does not exceed €2,000, you have the option of making a claim against the seller through the Small Claims process if you bought from a trader. However, if you bought a car privately, you cannot go through the Small Claims process, but you can still consider taking legal action.

For more information on what to watch out for before buying a second-hand car, log on to www.consumerhelp.ie

O’Leary Insurances Ltd. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland

East End Garage

LTD

DRIMOLEAGuE, CO. CORk | SALES AND SERVICE

T/F: 028 32000 M: 087 9349063 E: eastendjames@gmail.com W: www.eastendgarage.ie dieSel carS 2005 Toyota Avensis Strata 2010 Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI Style 2005 Toyota Yaris 1.0 2010 Toyota Corolla 1.4 D4D Terra 7 SeaterS 2009 Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI Zetec 2007 Opel Zafira 2007 VW Jetta 1.9TDI Baseline 2004 Opel Zafira 2004 Peugeot 407 2.0 HDI 2002 Ford Galaxy 1.9TDI 2008 Opel Astra 3DR SXI Black 2008 Opel Corsa 1.0 ( New Model ) 2007 Toyota Corolla 3DR ( All Extras ) 2006 Ford Focus Ghia saloon

coMMercialS

2009 VW Caddy 1.9TDI 2005 Citroen Berlingo 1.9 D 2007 Mitsubishi L200 CrewCab

Supplying and Servicing all makeS of carS,vanS & 4x4S Stocking a large Selection of tyreS, batterieS, wiper bladeS, bulbS and brake padS.

Connonagh Motors LTD Leap | 028 33345 | 087 4125329

1979-2014

EnD of YEar CLEaranCE | real Value & reliability Guaranteed Low MiLEaGE DiEsELs

10 Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI 1 Owner F.S.H Only 40k Miles NCT 06/16 09 Toyota Corolla 1.4 D4D Black Only 74k Miles NCT 01/17 08 Toyota auris 1.4 D4D Luna extras Only 48k Miles Sliver 1 owner as new NCT 04/16 05 Toyota Corolla 1.4 D4D Saloon 1 Owner Only 31k Miles NCT 10/16 05 Toyota Corolla 1.4 D4D 5 Dr Hatch Red 116k Miles NCT 02 Volkswagon Golf 1.9 TDI 150k Miles NCT 03/15 04 Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI estate Silver NCT 180k Miles

Low MiLEaGE PETroL

06 Toyota Corolla 1.4 VVTI Saloon Regency Red Very Clean NCT Only 80k Miles 05 Toyota Corolla 1.4 VVTI Luna Red 85k Miles NCT 03/15 04 Nissan almera 1.5 Red Only 116k Miles New Clutch NCT 01/16

Give us a call for all your servicing, NCT Preparation, DOE Repairs

We’ve the quality O.E. and dealer genuine parts to suit your needs and at a reasonable rate - Top Quality Spec Oils Used

Our Test Pass Rate Is Well Known, We look forward to helping you!

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