Auto

When Parliament is in session, an all-too-common sight is a motor vehicle parked in the vicinity of Gordon House on Duke Street in Kingston with its engine running idly and air-conditioning on as drivers in jackets wait for their charges to emerge.

Jamaica must begin to view the issue of road safety as a national concern, recognising that the long-lasting impact of traffic crashes extends well beyond the affected victims.

"Take it up to my farm and let me see how it reacts there!" That was the challenge St Ann farmer Sylvester Setal threw out to Kingston Industrial Garage Limited, local authorised Ford dealers, after test driving the 2012 Ford Ranger at Caymanas Estates recently.

Almost invariably, sprinter Usain Bolt is at the head of the pack on the track, but last Sunday he became just another statistic on the road. Bolt's early morning accident in Half-Way Tree, when his car hit a guard rail, reinforces what a 10-year analysis of accidents across Jamaica has shown - Half-Way Tree had the most crashes, 3,674. central downtown Kingston was second in the accident ranking.

After starting from pole position, Italian Edoardo Mortara won the fourth round of the 2012 DTM at the Red Bull Ring in Austria in front of 48,500 spectators last Sunday. This marked the new Audi A5 DTM's first race victory.

Today's main Automotives story points to the low demand for some of the most fuel-efficient and, in terms of licensing fees, cost-effective vehicles available in Jamaica. This is in a scenario where not only fees, including the requirement for a certificate of fitness, have been increased as of June 1, have been raised, but there has been a duty hike.

Despite the awesome performance by Jamaica's circuit racers at last Sunday's Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) race meet at Dover Raceway in St Ann, the controversial crash involving Doug Gore's multimillion-dollar Audi TT and Peter Rae has been the dominant issue.

The harsh economic climate has left many car dealers crying about the molasses pace of sales, with most of their inventory gathering dust.

In the early stages of an extensive presentation on Mobil's passenger-vehicle lubricant line last Thursday evening at the Spanish Court Hotel, New Kingston, IMCA Jamaica Ltd Country Manager Angel Gomez noted a striking characteristic of the private car profile in Jamaica.

Today's go-kart race meet at the Palisadoes International Raceway, Kingston, promises a lot of excitement in the Rotax Masters Class, which will include of some of the stars of yesteryear?

Five years ago a chemist based at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Delano Wheatle put together a formula for entrepreneurship that combined his love of automobiles and observation of popular accessories.

Vehicle care and maintenance services, as well as driver-improvement simulations and training, are among the main features of the 2012 Autofest Auto Fair.