Expert doubts Australian vehicle assembly can survive
The closure of Ford’s Victorian engine plant is probably the beginning of the end for Australian car assembly, says the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson believes that Ford, Holden and Mitsubishi will all eventually stop manufacturing in Australia.
“Both Ford & General Motors are in serious trouble […]

Holden should recall their recent Vectra model because the handbrake may fail without warning, says the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide.
Dog & Lemon Guide editor Clive Matthew-Wilson said today:
“There is clear evidence of a serious problem with these cars and Holden needs to take action now, before someone is killed or injured.”
There have been […]

A call by the police to lower the legal blood alcohol limit will not work unless it’s part of a package of measures to limit the promotion of alcohol, according to a leading road safety expert.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide, said today:
“Am I the only one […]

Fines have little effect on curbing bad driver behaviour, and the government crackdown on unpaid fines will simply make a bad situation worse, according to the Dog & Lemon Guide. The largest study of fines (as a deterrent) ever conducted in Australia has shown that higher fines do not reduce the risk of […]

Suzuki four-wheel drives made before 1998 pose a serious risk to younger drivers, according to road safety experts.
The Dog & Lemon Guide issued the warning after 15 year old Auckland student Richelle Murphy died when she was partially thrown from a Suzuki Escudo four-wheel drive which rolled over.
Dog & Lemon Guide editor Clive Matthew-Wilson […]

New Zealand must reduce the number of cars coming into the country as a first step to easing our addiction to fossil fuels, says a leading car expert.Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide, says: “Oil prices are hitting record highs and yet New Zealand is busy importing cars and […]

Road safety campaigners say a South Canterbury doctor busted for reading while she was driving has got off far too lightly.
The 62-year-old was fined $400 after admitting she found her book just too good to put down on a trip from Timaru to Christchurch Airport.
The Timaru court heard Rosalind Allen-Narker had been reading a book […]

Road safety campaigners are calling for parents who supply alcohol to underage drivers to be penalised if something goes wrong.
Clive Matthew-Wilson of the Dog and Lemon Guide was commenting after a serious weekend crash in Manukau at the hands of a drunk 16-year-old.
The boy’s mother has admitted to regularly supplying him with alcohol.
Matthew-Wilson says if […]

Many new car buyers are unwittingly buying vehicles without spare tyres, according to the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Dog & Lemon Guide editor Clive Matthew-Wilson said today: “Many new European cars are coming out without a spare tyre. Some cars come with a tiny air pump to inflate a flat tyre, and nothing else. […]

As cars get smarter so do the thieves targeting them.
Dog and Lemon Guide editor, Clive Matthew-Wilson, says modern car keys often contain a computer chip which only recognises the car it belongs to - if you do not have that particular key you cannot start the car.
But Matthew-Wilson says that has prompted thieves to target […]

The New Zealand Herald today published an article with commentary from various motor safety experts on ways that drivers can increase their chances of surviving an accident. Suggestions included avoiding "small car death traps", SUVs and ….
The Herald interviewed three motor safety experts, including the Dog and Lemon Guide's Clive Matthew-Wilson who commented,
"The real deadly […]

New safety ratings for used cars show large utes and SUVs are more likely to cause significant harm to other road users in crashes.
The 2006 list compiled by Land Transport New Zealand and the Automobile Association rates vehicles on how well they protect drivers and how much damage they can cause to pedestrians and others.
LTNZ […]