Towards a safer environment

Kids in cars is an unintended theme of this edition of – see AA Motoring’s car care tips on page 37 and our article about Land Rover’s Disco kids on page 16.

The AA article spells out how to protect your car from what is the almost inevitable “biscuit explosion” on the back seat when carrying young kids.

And then late in the week Land Rover revealed how young kids helped it to develop the new Discovery, to be unveiled at this month’s Paris Motor Show.

Land Rover engineers and designers roped their kids into the development process, to help ensure the new Discovery can cope with the punishment inevitably dished out, however unintentionally or otherwise, by young passengers. WIN WITH DRIVEN The Australian GTs will headline the Hampton Downs 101, the official reopening of the extended track, TONY VERDON

As a reward for their efforts, the kids were invited to create a colourful camouflage design for the new 4x4 to hide its looks from prying eyes before it is unveiled on the eve of the Paris show.

The story illustrates the lengths vehicle manufacturers go to these days to anticipate the wear and tear their models, especially family friendly SUVs, will be subjected to.

And as the new Mazda CX- 9 illustrates, the latest SUVs provide a far safer environment for family transport than their original predecessors of decades past.

Enjoy your weekend motoring. October 28- 30.

Win tickets by clicking on the Win button on Driven. co. nz ABOUT US Editor Tony Verdon Editor at Large Liz Dobson Contributors Colin Smith, Mathieu Day, Matthew Hansen, Bob McMurray, Cameron Officer, Donna McIntyre Cover design Jennifer Adams Cover photo Supplied Advertising Head of Automotive, NZME Todd Fuller 021 986027 todd. fuller@ nzme. co. nz 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Chevrolet Corvettes are built where? AMichigan B Georgia C Kentucky Citroen built the DS for how many years? A10 B 20 C 27 The original Nissan Fairlady Z was also known as? A180ZX B 240Z C 260Z Which is not required for a warrant of fitness? ARear window wiper B Rear number plate lights C A working handbrake MVAgusta is part- owned by which car company? AAMG B Bentley C Fiat The first 24 hours of LeMons ran in? A 2004 B 2005 C 2006 Which company is older? A Kawasaki Heavy Industries B Harley- Davidson Motorcycles C Renault What is the engine bore of the Subaru BRZ? A 76mm B 86mm C 91mm The Suzuki Cultus shared its platform with which car? A Holden Barina B Daihatsu Charade C Ford Fiesta Subaru’s STI division was formed in? A 1988 B 1993 C 1997