The inability to merge is a trait that pervades too many Australian drivers. Get stuck in a couple of lines of traffic and the chances are there are nufties arguing over who should go first as two lanes become one somewhere up ahead.

And it’s not like they’re the automotive equivalents of Chip and Dale at the head of the line, politely insisting: “No, after you… No, after you”. It’s more like trench warfare as they offer no, nor receive any, quarter. Panel beaters must smack their lips at the idea of local road works…

The same inability dictates the need for filtering traffic lights on our free, errr, I mean toll… ways. And it’s the reason why road authorities regularly close down perfect good (and clear) lanes on our major roads at the very time they’re needed – peak hour.

Perhaps instead of committing learners to hours of instruction focussed on parallel parking and three-point turns, our driving tutors should actually concentrate on the simple things…  Like merging…

 

You can read petrolhedonist’s reviews and road tests at motoring.com.au

Must be the sunshine — albeit diffused and weak on the first day of winter. Or perhaps it’s just the fact it’s the last day of the working week…

Whatever the reason (perhaps they’re just taunting me on my day off), there’s a surfeit of Porsche drivers posing in Melbourne this morning.

So far I’ve spotted two newish Cabs, a very nice pair of SC Carerras, a GT3 (white as they should be and gorgeous) and an absolutely mint 968 ClubSport. Mmmm I could live with one if them…

See what petrolhedonist does for a day job at motoring.com.au

It wasn’t that long ago that talking about cars at the dinner table was not considered polite, or cultured, conversation… Much better that you discuss the latest cinematic masterpiece or the plays of Pinter, Williamson and The Bard…  At a pinch you might stray into music – after all, politics and religion are off limits. If you were really desperate, the weather…

But how things have changed…  Now weather discussions invite clashes between greenhouse aficionados and climate sceptics. And the cinemas are full of vacuous US teen movie sequels. Chefs haunt your every move on the TV and internet…

Call it what you like (I reckon it’s the Top Gear factor) but it’s now fashionable to be reasonably well informed about cars…

The key word here is ‘reasonably’, diverge into the region of being a little too au fait with the nuts and bolts and you’re straying into anarok, or worst still, bogan territory.

Am I wrong to have sensed this general increase in interest about cars from the general populous?

Is the feeling unique to me?

As evidence I proffer two recent dinner table discussions with groups of well-heeled, well-informed Melbournites. On finding out about my profession the questions and opinions came thick and fast. And the crowd, evenly split in terms of gender, proved to be up to date and, best of all, genuinely interested in what was happening on four wheels.

It’s enough to make you send a thank you note to the BBC…

You can see what petrolhedonist does for a day job at motoring.com.au

Is there any car that cannot be improved by a set of black rims? Apparently not if my drive into carsales HQ this morning is anything to go by…

The route from Chez PH to the office does traverse a few leafy suburbs, so the automotive eye-candy is often impressive. Though black rims have been popular in street rodding culture for a while now (and graced our Skoda rally car y-e-a-r-s ago 😉 ) , it seems that the genre has finally hit the top end of town. This morning petrolhedonist counted no fewer than sevn black-rimmed beauties on Williams Road alone… And that’s not including the showroom full of BMWs and MINIs with gloss and matt hoopos neros at Bibs…

You can see what petrolhedonist does for a day job at motoring.com.au

Praise aplenty has been heaped on Mazda’s new CX-5. Variously scribes have talked about its excellent diesel engine and (especially) its “European prestige levels” of cabin finish. And there’s good reason for plaudits — it is by many measures an excellent piece of work. But it takes about two seconds flat in the cabin of Audi’s new Q3 to re-appraise how high the bar is set when you choose to benchmark best European prestige levels of fit and finish. The cabin or the German marque’s newest and smallest SUV is quite simply almost faultless.

Dash plastics; the mixed seat surfaces of leather and a perforated alcantara style fabric; the metallic touches to dash and doors… If the CX-5 did a great job (at a significantly lower price point) to approximate where the Euro standard for this type of vehicle sat, that benchmark has just been moved. Substantially!