Media Releases

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 it. However, the current hard reality is that most of the world’s alternative energy industry is based on quick fixes to the current system, and many of them are an outright scam.”

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 call. However, says Matthew-Wilson, most cellphone users would hate to lose their cellphone and this fear would eventually modify their behaviour.

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 a problem. Now its clear there is a problem and something must be done about it.”

Consumer New Zealand spokesman Hamish Wilson agrees:

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 the road toll.