Cars are one of the main products that produce a large amount of emissions; therefore many manufacturers have been turning towards creating eco friendly cars.

The most eco-friendly car would be the one that runs completely on a battery. This means there is no need for fuel. Although this may be good news for the environment, there are some drawbacks. There are cars available to customers; however the engines themselves are limited. Also, after travelling about 100 miles, the battery will need to be charged again.

The hybrid car is becoming more popular and available for customers. The car runs on both battery and fuel. The fuel is used when more power is needed for a certain speed so the battery does not need to be charged as frequently.

Many well known manufacturers have produced popular hybrid cars. Toyota has developed the Prius, which sells for about $22,000 and is among some of the hot selling cars. The Ford Fusion Hybrid has received many awards and is priced at about $27,000. The Ford Fusion has been awarded the leading hybrid car on the market in the United States.

As time goes on and environment issues become more topical, manufacturers will be striving to produce economical and environmentally friendly cars available to the whole public.

With its 3.0-litre turbodiesel V6, the car is able to cover 1200km a just one 80-litre tank of fuel. In other words, the car can take four passengers from Sydney to Melbourne and there would still be around 10 litres to spare.

Porsche has stated that the vehicle can cope “effortlessly with short bursts of speed and cross country touring” and can reach 100km/h in just 6.8 seconds.

This makes it a fairly powerful vehicle for a large luxo-laden car. It has a fuel consumption rate of 6.5L/100km and emites approximately 172g/km of CO2.

The Panamera Diesel is offered in rear-drive format and only an eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic is offered.

This vehicle was electrically controlled variable-geometry turbochargers (VGTs) as well as an auto start-stop function which is fitted as standard.

The Panamera Diesel has standard steel springs, however adaptive air suspension is available for those who want a bigger range of settings.

It does sit lower than most of its four-door rivals, however it is no longer considered a petrol guzzler.

It is expected that the Panamera Diesel will be available with a leather interior, BiXenon headlights, Porsche Active Suspension Management, front and rear ParkAssist, automatic dimming rear-view mirrors and tyre pressure monitoring.

There’s a wide range of colours and contrasting roof arches to go with each colour. An S-line package and Competition Aerodynamic pack are also available for those who are keen for a classy or sporty car.

The Audi A1 also offers value for money as long as the options list doesn’t get too long. With a 1.4-litre TFSI petrol engine and a six-speed manual gearbox, it starts at $29,990. Moving up the ladder, the A1 Ambition starts from $32,650.

The turbocharged engine delivers a lot of its power between 1500 and 4000 revs. It may be small, but it’s definitely powerful, reaching 100km/h in 8.9 seconds. However the gearshifts are a little sloppy, particularly when moving into first whilst rolling. The fuel consumption is about 6.2L/100km, which is about a litre more than Audi stated, but it is still very economical.

It is a fairly quiet car, even with the optional 17-inch rubber fitted and also steers very smoothly.

The interior is very impressive with a combination of textures and tones make this black-on-black design more upbeat than the other rivals.

Unfortunately, the A1 is not exactly child-friendly as it may take a while to get kids in and out and there is enough room in the back seat for people who are above average height, but it is not suited for long trips as it can get cramped. However, the front seat has plenty of room for adults and is full of features.

It can be considered a very safe car with six airbags, all seats fitted with a three-point belt and head restraint and an ESP, ABS, EDL and ASR as well. However, the rear vision is interrupted by small wing mirrors and C pillars and when in use, the wipers are fairly loud.

As to be expected, the boot space is not overly substantial, but the back seats do fold down, allowing enough room for larger loads. There are also extra lamps in the boot so that when the hatch is open, other cars will still be able to see you, which add a nice touch.

With a superb interior, excellent performance and overall style, you cannot pass by the Audi A1 without glancing over. Whether it be for commuting or just to be seen in, it is suitable for all.

Ford engineers have taken home a number of prizes from this year’s Edison Best New Product Awards in New York City.  The car company received golden gongs for MyFord Touch and MyKey systems as well as the design for rear inflatable seat belts.  The SYNC AppLink received a Silver award.

The group vice president for Ford Global Product Development, Derrick Kuzak, said “We are pleased that our latest consumer technologies have been recognised as Edison Award winners.”

MyFord Touch uses voice commands to control items in the car such as navigation, climate control, audio and phone systems.

The MyKey system gives parents piece of mind when their children head out onto the roads as there can be some control over the vehicle speed and audio volume levels. It can even mute the car audio system if those in the front seat don’t buckle their seatbelts.

The rear inflatable seatbelts spread the impact of a collision across a wider area of the chest to prevent a large amount of pressure and give greater control to head and neck motion.

Approximately 2000 members of the Marketing Executives Networking Group judged the nominees on marketplace success, marketplace innovation, market structure innovation, technological innovation, design innovation and societal impact.

Since the launch in 1986, there have been many dangerous journeys. The original Gardner diesel couldn’t move the ship faster than four knots into a head wind.

The trust who owns the ship has decided to give it a do over so it can last until at least 2020.

The Spirit of New Zealand has been fitted with a new Yanmar 6AYM-STE engine which is rated at 490kW at 1900rpm. This has boosted its top speed to 12.8 knots and the cruising speed to 10 knots.  Despite the speed increase, the fuel consumption is lower than before.

The ship is also able to visit more exotic locations with the new air conditioning installed. The Spirit of New Zealand is now back at her home port in Auckland and will be sailing around the Hauraki Gulf.

The two previous winners were the Volkswagen Polo and Golf small cars. This is the first time an electric car has won this prize.

The Nissan model was up against 39 other vehicles including the BMW 5 Series and Audi A8 limousines.

There were 66 automotive journalists from 25 countries who voted for the World Car of the Year.

The Nissan LEAF can go up to 160km just on battery power and can be charged using a smartphone application.

At this stage, the Victorian government is set to receive 16 LEAF cars for an electric car trial and will be available for the Australian public to buy next year.

It is expected that the RRP will be close to $50,000 however the priced has not been confirmed.

The WCOTY Green Car Award was given to the Chevrolet Volt which will be on sale from next year.

The World Car Design of the Year was awarded to the Aston Martin Rapide

Studies have shown that many motorists are putting off regular car maintenance for an average of 1 -2 months in order to save money. Most vehicle manufacturers recommend changing the oil every 5000km or every six months, depending on which comes first.

There are ways to effectively save money and not damage the car. A few things need to be considered first – the type of driving you do and the quality of the oil and filters.

If the majority of driving is done driving to and from work every day (15-20mins) and then parking the car for the whole day is called severe service use. This is harmful as the engine doesn’t reach full operating temperature, so the oil is not hot enough for moisture to evaporate out of. As a result, there could be sludge and deposits which may look like the oil needs to be changed even though it does not have many miles of use.

Therefore, if you drive more than 30 minutes every day the engine and oil reaches full operating temperature. As a result, the oil lasts longer as the contaminants and moisture are evaporated.

An important piece of equipment to help keep the oil clean is a high efficiency oil and air filter. It is important to have a high quality air filter as 80% to 90% of contaminants come through the air filter.

Particles the size of 5 to 20 microns cause the most amount of engine wear, however most economy oil filters can only work down to 50 microns, therefore they miss the majority of the contaminants.

However, there is a way to prevent this by using synthetic Nano fiber material for the filters as it works down to less than 10 microns, killing the majority of contaminants.

Along with quality oil and air filters comes quality oil. Synthetic motor oils are a good choice as they can extend the drain interval for a lot longer than petroleum oil.

Therefore it is possible to save money and take care of a car. It is not about cutting corners, but using high quality products to ensure it lasts the distance.

The new BMW X3 is now bigger inside and out in order to separate itself from its bigger brother, but the X3 lives up to this challenge with a more mature, wider, longer and taller looking model.

The interior does not fail to deliver either. The electrically controlled, leather-lined seats add a touch of relaxation to every ride, a tilted centre stack allows for better ergonomics and a colour screen (with a reversing camera) is included. There was a Professional sat-nav system ($3000) included in the test car that can also be used for the optional internet system.

Storage is definitely not a problem starting from door pockets that can hold 1L water bottles to the 40/20/40 split-fold seats giving plenty of room. There is also a closable cup holder, so when not filled with drinks, it can be folded over to create a flat surface.

As well as plenty of storage room, there is also good leg, knee and headroom in the back, however the rear pew can feel too reclined and cannot be changed. USB/Auxiliary inputs are hidden in the covered centre console in order to save room as well as to hide valuables.

The xDrive28i has a new 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine with eight-speed automatic transmission. The auto provides fast and smooth shifts, however when it’s on a hill it can hold the gears well. In relation to handling, the X3 is very similar to the older models. It has strong road-holding abilities and can stick to an impressive flat line through bends.

There are two options that allow for more improvements. The first one is the 19-inch wheels that have wider rubber for better rear-end grip. The second is Adaptive Sports Steering ($600) which has three modes- Normal, Sport and Sport+. These modes slightly changed the car’s steering however, the steering sometimes felt uneasy at lower speeds.

The X3 has definitely improved in several aspects, compared to its older brother. The ride is a lot smoother as it feels like speed bumps flatten under the tyres as it drives over them. However, although the drive was smooth, it was not exactly quiet. There was wind noise coming from the windscreen pillars and the driver’s side window rattled on several test cars.

The 2.0-litre diesel-engine version also has many positive features with fuel consumption being 5.6L/100km. The new transmission, linear power delivery and little turbo lag makes the diesel engine quite easy to use. The gears change well and similar to the version above, the auto is able to hold gears without trouble.

The optional steering system was not available for the 20d, however it still worked well on the road but sometimes jiggled over mid-corner bumps. The interior is quite impressive with the entry-level 20ds having a Sensatec finish. Unfortunately it did not have the electrically adjustable leather seats.

Despite the fact the X3 has many rivals; the new second-generation model will blow the others away.

The tyre blows, the battery dies in the middle of the night or there is an accident. These are just some of the everyday situations people get stuck in. Look under the front seat and will there be any equipment to help in this situation? The majority of cars have empty water bottles, chip packets and scattered CD’s on the floor. Not exactly the suitable tools for a flat battery.

There are a few items that can be kept on board as a car survival kit to help in many emergencies and are listed below.

Jumper leads are essential for flat batteries. All that is needed is one black (-) and one red (+) lead and another car to kick start the battery.

First Aid Kits are handy for any situations and the car is no exception. St John Ambulance even has a special compact kit especially for the car. There are also training courses available to prepare drivers for emergencies that can happen whilst in the car.

A torch might not seem that important for a car, but if the car broke down in the middle of the night it would be very handy to have.

Once again, a notepad and pen seems a bit strange, but if there was an accident and names and numbers need to be exchanged, it could save a lot of time and distress.

Many car companies are now installing cars with a space-saver spare instead of a full size spare wheel in order to save money. However, this tyre will barely get the car to the next garage. Therefore it is worth it to fit a full size wheel in the boot.

A fire extinguisher, although heavier, can stop a real disaster. There could be an electrical fault or a crash and the car could be up in flames in seconds.

A basic tool kit including a hammer, spanner and screwdriver could help fix the little problems instead of waiting for assistance. It can save time and money.

Wire and duct tape are the last items on the list as they give temporary fixes to buy time until an auto repair shop comes along. Wire can be used to re-attach a wayward exhaust system and duct tape can hold down body panels and bumpers damaged in accidents.

No matter how much money is spent on top safety features and tyres, there is always a chance of an accident or flat tyre. Therefore it really is worth it to spend a few extra dollars on the smaller things to help out with the bigger problems.

Cruising out on the river is a favourite past time for many, however with this boat the weight of the people and equipment on board needs to be taken into consideration. It would be wise to consider having the 90hp fitted if there are more than two people on board with a large amount of equipment as it may not be as powerful.

Those with motion sickness will be pleased to know the 1750 is quite stable on calm water and easy to move about. It has an estimate high speed of just over 60km/h and when passing over other boat’s wash, it was also quite comfortable. The 1750 was fitted with hydraulic steering, like all Tournament Boats, and complimented the craft well.

If fishing is a must, the 1750 has the facilities to help catch the big one. There are two live bait well, but are not plumbed. Inside, the non-removable couch base can collapse and touches the carpet deck so as to stop feet from tucking under when the water rocks the boat. It would be better if the couch was removable in order to allow for more space when there are more people aboard.

At the helm, there are comfortable seats for the captain and passenger and there is also easy access to the small cabin. When walking into the cabin, a person of 180cm or taller may find themselves hitting the roof a lot and the bed is suitable for two medium-sized people. There is also plenty of room in the cabin for storage of gear.

There is not one speck of timber on this boat; instead it is made out of fiberglass mould that is foam-filled for extra strength.

The approximate price for the boat, motor, trailer package, registration and safety gear is just $39,100.

Whether it is for first timers on a boat or for those who are looking to downsize, the Tournament 1750 is a great choice for a day out on the water.