A third of New Zealand’s car dealers could go out of business in the next 18 months, says a leading car industry commentator.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide, says:
“A perfect storm just got worse. In addition to the recent meltdown of many key local finance companies, we have a […]

If politicians were cars, how would they be rated by The Dog & Lemon Guide?
Helen Clark becomes a Hummer battlewagon. John Key becomes a smooth and slick 1950s American sports car, while Greens leader Jeanette Fitzsimons gets run over by Helen Clark. Act leader Rodney Hide is ‘an overweight relic of the 1980s’, who gets […]

The National Party still needs to answer the hard questions on toll roads, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson said today:
“National is riding into the election on a series of vague promises and denials. For example, their transport spokesman said on Sunday that some motorists could be paying $50 a week […]

The National Party needs to clarify its position on toll roads, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson said today:
“National is promising public-private partnerships in order to build new roads. That sounds fine on paper. However, taxpayers need to know what the real-world costs of these public-private partnerships will be.”
The Dog & […]

A leading road safety campaigner has savaged a recently released list of safe and unsafe second hand vehicles. The study, compiled by Australia’s Monash University Accident Research Center, claims to have used actual crash data to determine whether a type of vehicle is safe or unsafe. A leaflet based on the study is being widely […]

A leading road safety campaigner has savaged a recently released list of safe and unsafe second hand vehicles. The study, compiled by Australia’s Monash University, claims to have used actual crash data to determine whether a type of vehicle is safe or unsafe. A leaflet based on the study is being widely distributed by the […]

Motorcycle riders are around 14 times more likely to be killed than a person driving a car.
The recent dramatic rise in motorscooter sales will inevitably mean a big increase in road deaths and injuries, says a leading road safety campaigner.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide, warned today that motorcycle riders […]

Motorcycle riders are around 20 times more likely to be killed than a person driving a car.
The recent dramatic rise in motorscooter sales will inevitably mean a big increase in road deaths and injuries, says a leading road safety campaigner.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide, warned today that motorcycle riders […]

The current shortage of electricity raises further doubts about the viability of electric cars, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
“The Minister of Energy wants electric vehicles to gain a 5% market share by 2020, rising to 60 percent by 2040. If that many electric vehicles were in use today, then New Zealand would […]

United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon has acknowledged a growing concern over the environmental effects of biofuels.
Speaking in Hungary this week, Ban Ki-moon said:

“We need to be concerned about the possibility of taking land or replacing arable land because of these biofuels.”

Ki-Moon also said recently:
“Clearly, biofuels have great potential for good and, perhaps, also […]

New Zealanders shouldn’t be fooled by quick fixes to the current energy crisis, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says yesterday’s EECA Biofuels and Electric Vehicles Conference in Wellington appeared to be a thinly disguised promotion for energy wastage.
Matthew-Wilson – who was not invited to the conference – said the event’s […]

Australians shouldn’t be fooled by quick fixes to the current energy crisis, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says most ‘green’ cars are worse for the environment than the technologies they replaced.
“If there was an easy way of powering the world’s cars on some alternative energy source, we’d be all for […]

The police should have the power to seize cellphones being used by drivers while a car is in motion, says a leading road safety expert.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide, says that simply banning cellphones won’t work because many users are prepared to risk a fine rather than miss a […]

Holden should follow the example of its British sister company and recall the recent Vectra model because the handbrake may fail without warning, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide and Consumer NZ.
Dog & Lemon Guide editor Clive Matthew-Wilson said today:
“We called on Holden to recall this car last year. They denied there was […]

Recent claims that daytime headlight use will not lower the road toll are completely out of tune with the best available research, says one of the country’s leading road safety experts.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide, says virtually all international research has shown that daytime running lights can significantly lower […]

Ten leading American ecological scientists have sent a letter to President Bush and the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, urging that current biofuels policies be reversed. The letter said:
“We write to call your attention to recent research indicating that many anticipated biofuels will actually exacerbate global warming.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/science/earth/08wbiofuels.html

The scientists were reacting to two major studies […]

The government’s proposed new motorway is an act of insanity, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson said today,
“For the last three decades governments have been building motorways in order to solve Auckland’s traffic congestion, and the congestion has only become worse.”
“Building more roads will simply encourage further use of cars at […]

The closure of the Mitsubishi Motors plant is one more nail in the coffin of the Australian assembly industry, says a leading car expert.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide, believes that Ford & Holden will also stop manufacturing in Australia.
“Both Ford & General Motors are in serious trouble globally. Therefore, […]

There is credible scientific evidence linking lunar cycles and antisocial behaviour, according to a leading road safety researcher.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, who edits the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide, said today:
“I’m not saying you can blame car accidents and crime solely on the full moon. I am saying that numerous scientific studies have shown a clear […]

General Motors is either deluded or deceitful in its promotion of electric cars as the way of the future, says the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide.
Responding to General Motors’ statement that “a switch to electric cars is inevitable,” Dog & Lemon Guide editor Clive Matthew-Wilson said today:
“Globally, much of the electricity to power electric […]