Boy, speed cameras and laser guns are starting to jack me off! Don't get me wrong, it's not the speed detection devices themselves or the idea of having them that gets to me - it's the way that they're being used and the sheer number of them. For example, take the situation in my hometown of Adelaide. Living here, it isn't uncommon to see three to four cameras or laser guns in one short city-metro trip. So it's no surprise that in the first six months of 1999, 150,000 people were nabbed and a total of $17.1 million was received in fines. That's in a city with a population of about a million!
All the while we're told that these traps are all aimed at slashing the State's annual road toll. Yeah, that sounds great to me - but I wonder why they aren't used primarily where there's the highest incidence of fatalities per vehicle. In country areas. Instead, they're used disproportionately on our city and metropolitan roads - where there'll be a sure flow of revenue.
This "hit 'em wherever we can" strategy popped up again the other day while I was driving along a virtually deserted city fringe road. Up ahead lay one of the State's biggest traffic black spots - the notorious Dequetteville Terrace roundabout - a nasty bit of road to negotiate even at the best of times. But rather than focus any attention to road safety in a known danger zone, I picked out a speed camera tucked away in the bushes about 300m away from the roundabout. Huh? What the hell was that doing there? It'd be hard to believe that there's ever been an accident at that particular location. And, of course, while that the flamin' camera sits poised to snap motorists creeping over 60, that damn roundabout goes on earning its dangerous reputation. A case of messed up priorities? You bet.
Of course, the rebuttal of my argument lies in the presently falling annual road toll. But I wonder what proportion of this can be credited to having a multitude of speed traps? At the same time that they're being used, cars are getting safer, drivers are generally more safety conscious and our roads are getting better. So it certainly can't all be attributed to just one factor...
But, for me, one of the real road safety issues for South Australia is in relation to annual vehicle inspections.
There aren't any.
So you can only imagine the condition of some cars' brakes, suspension, tyres and chassis. Absolutely horrifying. Yet this undeniably dangerous situation goes on and on unpoliced and unnoticed. It all makes me wonder about safety versus revenue, that's for sure...
You may have noticed that many of the great turbo cars of the 1980s have become incredibly cheap lately. Cordias, 300ZXs, VL Commodores, ET Pulsars, Charades, Starions, Saabs, TX5s, 929s, Lasers - nearly any of these cars can be bought for under eight grand. And many of the earlier turbo fours can be picked up for under four grand...true performance bargains in the extreme. But while these are all very attractive cars for the cash, there's one problem that might not be so obvious. Parts for these vehicles - good parts, I mean - are becoming expensive and very hard to source. So the situation where you might need to spend $1,500 maintaining a vehicle that cost you only $2,000 is very possible.
For example, a friend of mine owns a 1984 Cordia GSR turbo. He's priced a replacement engine from a wrecker at $950, a Dash 2.0 version for $1200 and a full engine rebuild (with new gaskets etc) starting at about $900. Not cheap when you consider bare RB20DETs, SR20DETs and EJ20 turbos can all be bought for less than about $1500. And you also have to remember that the average Cordia turbo is selling for $3000-$5000 - so how much is it really worth spending on one?
This concern goes for any parts that commonly get thrashed out - like gearboxes and turbos. To give you an example, the Daihatsu Charade turbo blows its miniature IHI turbocharger quite regularly (especially if boosted over standard) and so a used replacement would be a very big risk. A turbo rebuild for over $600 is about the only option - and that can be up to a quarter of the price of the whole car!
The Mitsubishi Starion is faced with the same dilemma - but in addition to just mechanical parts, its body and interior bits are near impossible to get as well. That low front spoiler that gets wiped out within the first 100,000km is impossible to replace with an un-bent part - you simply won't find one. While inside, those optional leather seats - which are invariably stuffed by now - can also be an expensive repair. Many people are forced to cover the worn-out leather with tacky seat covers or get a cheap vinyl re-cover. That's because the cost of a proper leather re-trim (generally over $1200) would be a large portion of the cost of the car.
So it's apparent from each of these examples that the cost of maintaining one of these 80s turbo cars can become a very big issue - in particular if you've stretched your budget to buy the car in the first place!
This whole situation is largely due to the fact that Japanese import parts for these older cars have 99% dried up - most of these 80s vehicles have been crushed long, long ago. It'd be nice to be able to buy a good used rear steering rack for your MX-6 turbo when the original one dies - but when was the last time you saw one of these in an import wrecker? You're forced to go to the expense of buying one new or trying to fix the existing one - in either case, it's gonna be mega-dear. Certainly without the back-up of imported used parts, the cost of owning a Japanese car - especially a turbo one - can be quite high.
So if you're in the market for one of these '80s turbo guns, be sure to check them out good an' proper. Coz that seemingly incredible bargain can easily end up costing you a packet to keep in good nick and on the road.
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