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Thrifty Car Rental Coupon
We just wanted to remind our members that they do have access to a unique promotional code that delivers a discount off the retail pricing of Thrifty car rental. Naturally most of our members will have already bought cars but often this sort of discount is useful for trips away as well as for one off journeys where a different car is needed.
So here is the current Thrifty Discount Corporate Code – CD 4908003767
The discount codes are also handy for buyers who are perhaps waiting on a new car to be delivered. It may surprise a lot of people but the average lead time for a new car in Australia (regardless of who you buy it through) is around 30 days. If you elect to sell your car privately, there can sometimes be a week or two where you might need to hire a car.
Automotive Myth Busters!
Perhaps you’ve just taken part in our interactive myth-busting quiz? If so, how did you do? If you haven’t yet, STOP, don’t ready any further – take part in the MythBuster Quiz and then come back to this page for the breakdown.
Let’s run through the questions and answers below along with some often surprising background to the results. We’d also love to hear some of your automotive myths so please let us know in the comments section below!
1. The very first car that Soichiro Honda made was powered by a huge 8 litre engine. TRUE! Soichiro Honda built his first car, a “Curtiss” fitted with an 8 litre aero engine. It still exists and is displayed in the Honda Museum.
2. Holden does not sell its cars in Zanzibar as Holden in Swahili sounds like the word for ‘underpants’. FALSE! But if anyone does know what Holden means in Swahili we’d love to know.
3. You can be prosecuted for using a mobile phone whilst driving even if you were just changing your playlist. TRUE! The prosecution has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you were actually using the phone and not just holding it. ‘Using’ includes using the phone for any of its functions, not just making a phone call.
4. In 2008, a South Australian cop recorded a car speeding at 400kph only to discover his gun had locked onto a military jet. FALSE! See answer to Q 10.
5. Sucking on a copper coin can beat the breathalyser. FALSE!
6. Hybrid-electric cars must be charged at night. FALSE! Hybrid cars have batteries and a conventional motor. Fully electric cars such as Mitsubishis iMiEV, however will need to be charged overnight.
7. Over-inflate your tyres for better fuel economy. TRUE! But it’s not a good idea and it won’t save you much in the long run. By over-inflating your tyres above the manufacturer’s recommendations you will wear out your tyres much quicker, change your car’s handling characteristics, and be subjected to a much harsher ride.
8. You can’t get fined for driving too slowly. TRUE! You can get fined for driving too slow if the police consider you are a hindrance to other traffic or pedestrians.
9. Aluminium foil dipped in Coca Cola removes rust spots from chromework. TRUE! The NRMA’s “Open Road” conducted this test recently, and found, surprisingly that it did seem to work, thought this can be seen as somewhat irrelevant, considering the absence of chromework on modern cars.
10. You can outrun a speed camera. TRUE! Britain’s iconic “Top Gear” motoring programme put it to the test and their test driver “Stig” discovered that, at more than 171 mph (275 kph), the radar didn’t register … now where can we test this?
11. Men are better drivers than women. FALSE! We were unable to uncover any documented research from any western societies that supported this assertion.
12. A little diagram on your fuel gauge will always illustrate which side your fuel cap is on. FALSE! Shame – good idea. Some manufacturers do have a little arrow which denotes which side your petrol cap is located, but not all comply.
I think we’re just scratching the surface here with the myths we’ve heard. So please let us know about any automotive myths that we are missing in the comments below…
Road Rage. Avoid it or fall for it?
The purpose of any trip into the abyss of the Peak Hour traffic is to in fact arrive, hopefully safely and with a little more to give over the next 12 hours of your day, than a sad regurgitation of your trip around the water cooler.
So why do so many of us arrive so angry?
Is it that we just can’t rise early enough to arrive on time? Are we so highly strung that we lose the plot when we are armed with a vicious 2.0ltr engine? (most general, nothing personal)
Since when do we get to our destination any earlier that we can’t give way to another vehicle trying to merge correctly; or when a person needs to merge off a side road into main road traffic (does anyone know it is actually illegal to stop in traffic across ANY intersection – not just those marked!!). Why do we have to speed up ‘just in case’ the little old lady might overtake you??
I do believe the problem is in the old saying “There is nothing common about Common Courtesy.” I have been watching the ways of traffic these past few days and have truly seen some remarkable states of self- induced rage. I am the first one to admitting my favourite car comment is, “the speed limit would be nice,” and my son’s favourite, “engage the traffic,” but to hang out the window screaming and honking the horn- please spare me!
The sad fact is, due to the uprise in all of this I have recently been overwhelmed by the lack of engagement of others when respectfully giving way or allowing traffic to merge. People are so used to NOT being able to merge – they don’t.
Take a day’s experiment and reap the rewards of your humanity.
Try making it to work by letting someone in (even if they are no ‘entitled’ to it), merge with the ‘side street lady’, and let those pushing the speed limit – do it. Then, here’s the kicker; wave with a smile, make a kind hand gesture (remember when we used to wave to say ‘thanks’), keep left, turn your favourite music up and arrive not only safely but happy in yourself, and in the knowledge that the ‘side street lady’s’ day has improved as well.
Don’t be the jerk that beeps and curses, runs up behind everyone and yells out the window. It is not your problem.
So, even when faced with the psycho ‘Gen Y’ racing up behind you in their P plated silver Corolla that Dad bought, tooting and swearing while you are slowing down to, God forbid, park, as they scream up to a red light only 10 meters in front of them– smile, laugh and think ‘have a nice day’. You’ll feel so much better!
Cash for Clunkers Scheme announced
I won’t write much here as we decided this was important enough to deserve a home page mention 🙂
Suffice to say, the announcement from Julia Gillard over the weekend could be good news for anyone looking to trade-in their old banger for a new fuel-efficient vehicle. Please read the details on our Cash for Clunkers intro page and look forward to more comment and analysis on the rebate on this blog .
Level 2, 9 Help Street