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| Cool colours |
Scientists in Munich, Germany, have found a way to change the shape of surface crystals in car paints, which means that the colours will alter according to the temperature. So a silver vehicle will turn red when the sun shines, or grey if it starts to rain. |
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| In the driving seat |
Ferrari have presented a steering wheel from one of their F1 racing cars to Pope Benedict. In a private audience in the Vatican, Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo gave the Pope the souvenir inscribed with the words: 'The steering wheel of the Formula 1 World Champion to His Holiness Benedict XVI, the driver of Christianity.' A year ago, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher presented the late Pope John Paul with a 1:5 scale model of the car that won both the championship and constructor titles in 2004. |
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| Girl thing |
Some men have long held the belief that women can't read maps and park, and it seems scientific research may well be backing them up. German scientists have discovered that hormones could be to blame - some women who received too little testosterone in the womb may lack spatial skills. This also proves that some research is better left undone if scientist know what's good for them. |
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| Wwwacky website |
Remember Barrier Reef, The Yarns of Billy Borker or Flashez? Well, if you yearn for a bygone age of telly, this site is for you. www.memorabletv.com is heaven for square-eyed viewers the world over, and has a special sub-site dedicated to Aussie TV, including a comprehensive A-Z listing of favourite shows, from Above the Law to Zoo Tails to jog your memory. There are full cast lists, productions credits and plot rundowns for those who take their telly seriously and that's most of us, judging by the statistics - the average Australian tunes in for three hours and 11 minutes a day apparently - though some of it is better forgotten. |
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Volume 11.01
January 2006 |
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Hello , Happy new year from all at Fleetcare!
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Fantastic plastic |
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 Typical - just too late for the Christmas list, another must-have gadget hits the market.
The Wallet Flash is the thinnest USB drive ever - it's just the thickness of a credit card, and the name suggests just where it will feel most at home, when it's not plugged into your computer or laptop, that is. The Wallet Flash is available with 128MB to 1GB of memory and supports USB 2.0. It's also waterproof, though why, we don't know, and costs $40 to $200 from www.wallatex.com . |
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Proton launches Savvy and Satria |
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 Malaysian car-maker Proton is hoping 2006 will be a happy new year for its vehicles in Australia, and it has certainly put a lot of work into its revamped range. Two new models are aimed at bargain buyers and they will be available through an expanded dealer network.
Designers from Lotus, a subsidiary of Proton, were brought in to bring a little pizzazz to the new Savvy hatchback, which will make its debut at the Melbourne Motor Show in February. Meanwhile Proton have ditched completely the old Mitsubishi Satria template and redesigned the car from scratch, the result will have its unveiling at the Brisbane Motor Show in March and will be on sale soon after.
The Savvy will cost less than $14,000 and just a thousand dollars more will buy an entry-level Satria. |
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Level head |
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 Japanese politicians were amazed at the sight of their prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, arriving at the parliament building on a two-wheeled Segway electric scooter one morning last month. The scooter was a recent gift from George W Bush, but as he scooted around the courtyard near his office and practised his reversing skills, Koizumi easily proved that he has a much better sense of balance than his American counterpart: Bush himself famously fell off his own two-wheeler. |
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Only human |
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 Having spent many decades creating robots that have all the skills of humans, Sony has gone a step further and produced a metallic friend which can actually do something we can't. QRIO, the multi-talented robot, has now been equipped with something we humans can only dream of - a third eye in the middle of its forehead which allows it to watch several people at once. While being introduced to Japanese shoppers in a mall last month, the QRIO proved its human capabilities by sidling up to a group of women, introducing itself, zooming in on one of them and impressing her with its break-dancing moves. Perhaps Sony have gone a little too far...
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Last train |
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 Chinese steam trains were consigned to the history books in a final puff of smoke last month, when 27 engines running a service in the sparsely populated region of Inner Mongolia were stopped in their tracks forever. Once a symbol of 'modern Chinese industrialism', steam trains are being replaced with new models which will soon be criss-crossing the homeland of the world's fastest-growing economic power.
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